Kenji the Shinobi Craftsman
by Redwall6921
Summary: Kenji enjoyed living, in fact he enjoyed just existing in general. He has only existed for less than a day, but he decided to make it his goal to live a long and full life. "Naruto and the rest can take care of the villains, I'll enjoy myself as a simple craftsman." Cultivator OC/ Reincarnated OC/ Monk OC. Crafting Game Elements.
1. Kenji C

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references that you might notice in the fanfic.**

 **A/N: This is Naruto Fanfic, with elements of Xianxia Cultivation Novels but it won't have things like grandmasters, spirit beasts, ancient plants, ridiculous overpowered sect leaders, or even cultivators apart from the MC and those he teaches his art. This also has a video game crafting system that is exclusive for the MC.**

 **MC is a reincarnated OC that is a mixture of his past life and the new body he inhabits.**

 **Chapter 1**

Kenji Yamamoto woke up with a start. Looking around him he could see that he had passed out in the middle of some street and there were already some people around him trying to help him to his feet.

Dazed he was helped to a sitting position and as the people began to talk, he looked even more confused. They spoke a language he didn't understand and were dressed weirdly, like those pictures of what ancient japan used to look like. Looking at his hands for a moment he was shocked to see that they looked young, way to young to belong to a twenty-year-old blacksmith apprentice.

Just as he felt the panic raise in his chest, he was bombarded by a set of memories that we not his own. Grabbing at his head he tried to alleviate the blinding headache, feeling as if someone had shoved a knife in his brain.

"Hey kid, are you okay?"

"Anyone see what happened?"

"Quick! Give him some space!"

"Is he going to be alright?"

He looked at them again in astonishment, he could understand them now. Kenji let them guide him to a nearby dango shop and once they were sure he was okay, left him there but not before buying him a stick or two of dango.

Looking at his hands again he was confused again. Kenji now had two sets of memories.

One belonged to that of a twenty-year-old adult man that ironically enough was named also Kenji. This Kenji however was an apprentice to one of the last traditional blacksmiths in Japan. Okay, so by apprentice, he meant slave, being the youngest and also the grandson of the master meant that he was expected to follow all of his orders. It was a family business, so it was not like he could say no, not without disappointing his family anyways. Despite this, Kenji did enjoy the old way of forging and found meaning in the traditions that had been passed down for generation to generation, however he did have a very normal childhood. The young man also read a number of novels and even wrote a few, xianxia novels mostly.

The next set of memories were of that of a ten-year-old boy, who's body he now inhabited. This Kenji Yamamoto was an orphan who had lost his parents during the kyuubi attack like so many others. That being said, he lived at one of the newly built orphanages following the attack, until he was old enough to enroll in the local ninja academy, where he was given an apartment. Kenji was in the same year as Naruto and the rest of the clan heirs but was in a different classroom, only having seen them twice in his entire time at the academy. The ten-year old was ranked below average in his class, but not the worst, the only thing that really stood out was his short and chubby appearance.

Taking everything in at once the new Kenji had thought that one the memories must have been false because the first set of memories told him that this was the Naruto universe, a fictional world that was a popular manga and anime, but the other one told him it was all real. As he looked around the shop, he saw a number of these shinobi with Leaf Headbands talking and eating their meals, he couldn't deny the fact that they were real.

So in the end he had come to a conclusion, he had somehow ended up in a fictional world, and was training to be a killer. Instinctively, Kenji knew that he was no longer the young boy or the man, instead he was a mixture of both. He tried to wrap his head around it but decided to give it up, he was there now and his predecessors A and B as he now referred to them were long gone, having been absorbed into his personality.

He ate the last of his dango trying to absorb everything he knew about the new world he was in, exactly like a newborn child. Looking at the wooden skewer in his hand he tried to observe it and something amazing happened, information that was not there before appeared in his head.

 **Dango Stick**

 **Quality: Poor**

 **Attack: 3**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 1**

"Huh?"

The small ten-year-old looked on in wonder, he did know what to think as this was something entirely new to him, neither of his sets of memories had any information about this strange phenomenon.

Kenji stood up and began to walk away from the shop letting his feet carry him to his destination all the while staring at the wooden stick.

In no time at all he arrived at a worn-down apartment complex. Looking at it curiously he wanted to ask what he was doing there before the memories from Kenji B (Boy) told him that this was his home. All the orphans that chose to enter the Academy had been given a room in one of these apartments and would receive a monthly stipend, until they became genin. Once they did become genin they would be expected to pay back everything that they had spent during their time there.

Taking out a key from his pocket, he went to his room which was on the first floor, behind the door with the sign that said 1-B. Stepping inside, the first thing that he noticed was the smell, it appeared like his predecessor was not a fan of cleaning. The young reincarnator could see a mountain of dirty dishes in the sink, bundles of garbage bags littered the entrance, and the floor was covered in used candy wrappers and ramen cups. Taking a finger, he slid it on the counter and saw a trail of dust left behind. The entire room was simple, with it only having a living room/bedroom, a kitchen with a counter, and a bathroom.

"I must clean," the boy stated as he rolled up his sleeves and began to go about the room trying to clean and organize everything as much as possible, his memories of Kenji A (Adult) helped him in this regard. He washed the dishes and started to walk around the room with a garbage bag to pick up all of the trash. Once he had everything bundled up, he took everything to the large garbage bins outside.

Borrowing some cleaning supplies from his landlord, a nice old lady that was shocked to see him ask for cleaning supplies, he went about the entire room with a wet rag and scrubed the floors as much as he could. Despite all the chores he was doing, he did them with a smile. Having the memories was not the same thing as doing it for the first time, and this was still a new experience for him since his birth about forty minutes ago.

Once he was done cleaning the living room, kitchen, bathroom, and his bed; he finally stopped to inspect himself in the mirror.

Kenji thought that his looks had much to be desired, he was short, standing at about 4'4''. Looking down at his stomach he also noticed that he was actually quite fat (around 110 pounds) and his face was also very round on account of his chubby cheeks. He had slanted fox eyes that looked like they were closed all the time. (-_-) His hair was a greasy brown and had a multitude of knots and split ends. Looking at his clothes he saw that he was wearing a dirty green yukata. Lifting one of his sleeves to his nose, Kenji almost gagged with how bad it smelled. (Look up Arita Haruyuki from Accel World, but with closed fox eyes.)

Giving himself one last look in the mirror he turned to the bathroom, "This can not go any longer. I don't know what my predecessor was thinking living like this. Thankfully the memories of my older half are here to guide me."

Kenji spent twenty minutes scrubbing himself raw using the hottest water possible in order to make sure he was clean. Getting out of the shower he went to the closet and found the only pair of clothes that were even remotely clean, green shorts, a white shirt.

"Now what?" Kenji said out loud to himself. Now that he was alive, he didn't know what he should do. Feeling a rumble and pain in his stomach he looked down and asked "Is this hunger? I know about it from the memories, but this is the first time experiencing it."

"Food! I should get food!" the small boy said to himself as he raced to the kitchen and got out a box that had some type of sugar cereal. Taking one of the small marshmallows from the box he looked at it carefully before placing it on the tip of his tongue, then began to gently roll it around in his mouth, trying to get a clear favor. It was sweet, way sweeter than the dango he had eaten earlier, and it dissolved very quickly. Gulping down the now dissolved marshmallow he had a smile on his face, "No wonder boy me liked them so much, these are delicious. What else is there?"

Putting the rest of the cereal on the counter, he walked to his small fridge and looked at what was inside. It didn't have very much but there were still some things there that he could try.

Grabbing everything in his short pudgy hands he sat on the ground and spent the next half hour just taste testing everything, while the memories of his past selves told him what they tasted like, he wanted to do it with his own taste buds. The first thing was a red plastic bottle that had a picture of a red ripe tomatoes. Popping the lid, he tipped the opening into his mouth and drank deeply from it, savoring the texture and flavor. "It's sweet, and acidic."

Putting down the ketchup bottle, he picked up a green pepper of some sort. His memories told him that it did not taste good, but he was adamant on trying it anyway, wanting to find out for himself. Gently he took a small bite from the green pepper and immediately felt his face start to heat up. Touching his lips and tongue he felt them start to go numb, "Ow, ow, ow, this hurts." The taste of the spicy object had spread all around his mouth now, and he started having a hard time breathing. With a hand he whipped away the sweat that had started to collect on his brow.

Kenji finally decided that he should stop the pain, so he got on the small stepping stool in order to reach the sink and after turning the water faucet on he drank deeply, sinking his entire head. Despite the burning pain he felt on his face, the small boy still had a large grin making him look like a fox with closed eyes. To him it was a new experience and it was a wonderful feeling of being alive.

Once he was done experimenting with the food, he began to search the apartment for anything that was useful.

Sitting on the foot of a small twin sized bed that was placed against the farthest wall of the room, he spread the few belongings he had on the sheets writing down on a separate piece of paper what he had.

 _ **15 practice shuriken**_

 _ **7 practice kunai**_

 _ **Academy books**_

 _ **71,470 Ryo**_

 _ **Two ninja mesh shirts**_

 _ **Ninja sandals**_

 _ **Red Bandana**_

Closing his eyes completely, not that anyone would notice an account that they always looked closed, he began to browse through the memories of Kenji B.

From what he could tell, Kenji B had joined the academy back when he was 6 like the rest of the orphans. He was put into one of the spare class with other orphan kids, along with those kids who came from low income families.

The Academy was divided into six years 1-6, each year had 9 classrooms labeled from A-I, and each classroom held 27 students. From his math, that meant that there was 1,296 students in the entire school. He was in class 4-G, a class that was mostly made up of orphans that didn't come from a clan and as a result, received less attention than those from classrooms like 4-A that currently had all the clan heirs.

The amount of Ryo was also a welcomed sight since it meant that he had at least some amount of resources. Apparently Kenji B was a very greed pig, and only used the bare minimum of his money when ever possible. Case in point was the pantry that was full of cheap and unhealthy foods, like instant ramen and chips. It was no wonder that he had grown fat living off the stuff for the past five years. From his calculations the value of a single Ryo went something like this.

 _ **1 Ryo= 10 Yen**_

 _ **1Ryo= $ .10**_

He got 2,000 Yen every month for spending money. He was expected to shop for his own groceries since the gas, water, lights, and room was already taken care of. His small saving was a result of four and a half years of careful budgeting.

Looking at the equipment spread out on his bed he picked up a wooden kunai and examined it careful. Just like before, information popped into his head.

 **Wooden Practice Kunai**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Attack: 10**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 18**

Putting down the Kunai he thought about this strange feeling.

"Chakra Points? Does that mean I just add chakra," he said pensively? As a fourth-year academy student he already knew how to channel chakra, although he didn't have very large reserves according to his sensei.

Grabbing the kunai again he decided to test this theory by channeling the chakra into the wooden shaped knife with the intention of 'Upgrading it'. Once he started to feed it his chakra it drank greedily, and he felt his reserves plummet to fifth of what they were.

 _ **Upgrade Success**_

 **Wooden Practice Kunai + 1**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Attack: 10**

 **+5 Attack**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 20**

Getting another Kunai to compare, he couldn't see the difference with just looks alone. They looked identical, the only noticeable difference was that the upgraded version felt sturdier in his hands.

Kenji fed the kunai more chakra, hopping to see more of what it would do. He was able to upgrade 3 more times before he felt his reserves drop dangerously slow.

 _ **Upgrade Success**_

 _ **Upgrade Success**_

 _ **Upgrade Success**_

 **Wooden Practice Kunai + 4**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Attack: 10**

 **\+ 23**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 26**

Now it had triple its original attack power. As a test he took the normal kunai and launched it at the wall, closely followed by the upgraded version. The first one bounced off the wall harmlessly like he expected, but the knew upgraded version managed to lodge itself about 2 cm in before falling to the floor too.

Taking out the dango stick from before, he observed it again.

 **Dango Stick**

 **Quality: Poor**

 **Attack: 3**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 1**

Kenji curiosity was peeked, and he wanted to see what it would do if he upgraded it.

 _ **Upgrade Success**_

 _ **Upgrade Success**_

 _ **Upgrade Success**_

 _ **Upgrade Success**_

 _ **Upgrade Success**_

 _ **Upgrade Success**_

 **Dango Stick + 6**

 **Quality: Poor**

 **Attack: 3**

 **+22**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 2**

That was his last thought before he felt a headache and passed out.

Opening his eyes again, or at least as wide as they let him, he noticed that it was night already. He felt his body ache, almost as if he had run the academy training course five times without stopping. He then noticed that his chakra reserves were already back to full capacity, even more curiously it felt like it had grown by a small bit while he was asleep. From the memories of Kenji B, he knew that it should have taken him much longer to recover even his meager chakra reserves.

Looking over at the upgraded dango stick, he let out a snort of pride. It still weighed the same, but he noticed that the stick was much stronger than before. He tried to bend it as far as he could between his fingers, but even with both hands he only managed to bend it a little before it snapped back into place.

Gathering more chakra in his hands he fed it some more energy in hopes to see just how far he could level it up.

 _ **Upgrade Failed**_

 **Dango Stick + 5**

 **Quality: Poor**

 **Attack: 3**

 **+19**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 2**

"It seems that it can fail too. It also went down a level," he said as he contemplated his next choice of action. "I might as well see how far I can go."

Kenji upgraded it again, and this time it was a success, bringing it back to +6. He continued to level it until it reached +9, but when he tried to level it to +10 he failed again, only this time instead of it going back a level it crumbled to dust in his hands.

He was disappointed since he had spent so much of his time on that stick.

After cleaning the dust from his bed, he retrieved more dango stick that he had seen taken from the trash feeling they could be useful later on, which just so happened that it did.

Kenji was determined to make at least one of them a +10, the earlier failure only seemed to encourage him.

It took some time, but he completed it 20 minutes later. He had moved to bathroom so as to not make a mess. Each failure taught him something new. For example, once something reached +8 it could no longer level down and instead it turned into ash. Also, it was easier to level something up in the beginning, but each success only made the next one even harder. His reserves were almost empty again, but the fruit of his labors were finally in his hands, and what a fruit it was.

 **Dango Stick + 10**

 **Quality: Poor**

 **Attack: 3**

 **+43**

 **+10: A 5% chance of doubling it piercing power when thrown at a target.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 5**

"So it seems to gain a buff after it reaches level 10. This reminds me of those crafting RPGs that Kenji A used to play back in his world," the small round boy said to himself. Looking through the memory of the young man in question, he could see that they indeed looked very similar. He was curious to see what else this ability gave him. "Could this be a kekkai genkai of some sort? Still, this is one weird ability."

'Now what?' he thought. That was the question he had been avoiding all day. Existence was new to him, and he didn't know what he should do.

He was the current Kenji, or Kenji C, but that didn't mean he wanted to be just like his predecessors, he was a mixture of both after all.

From what his memories of Kenji A said, it seems that this world had plenty of dangers both visible and hidden. His village, the Leaf Village, was one of the major powers in the entire continent, but it was also a huge target for many. He didn't fancy fighting people like Pein, Obito, Madara, and Kaguya, they terrified him. He was also unsure if he could take someone's life, half of his mind said that it was wrong, while the other said that if he wanted to survive in the world, he had to be willing to do it. And despite being new to it, he had grown accustomed to living and hoped to keep doing it for a very long time.

From what he knew of the show and manga, he hoped that he could hopefully avoid some of the major disasters that befell his home, like hiding during the Sound invasion or being out of town when Pein decided to add a crater in the middle of the village. He knew he could count on good old Naruto to win, the small boy would no doubt beat them again and then go on to become Hokage in the distant future.

If possible, he wanted to stay as a simple civilian since that meant that he wouldn't need to be in so much constant danger. He could even open up a store and make his living through blacksmithing, but it was then that he remembered that he was an Academy Student, he had signed a contract when he left the orphanage. Kenji knew that his only hope was to either become a non-descriptive genin level Ninja that stuck to doing mostly D and C- rank missions or retire early, something that he didn't even know if it was possible.

Looking at the stick in his hand, be began to get an idea. "Maybe if I open up a shop earlier, I can earn enough money to retire early and then move to a far away island. Leave all the fighting to Naruto and the rest of the shinobi, all I have to worry about is the Infinite Tsukuyomi cast by Madara but I'm sure that Naruto will find away to stop him like before. Plus, if by some chance he can't, living in a fake and perfect world doesn't seem like a bad way to go."

It was decided, he would try to avoid fighting a much as possible and open an equipment shop to help in his goals of being a civilian. Still that did raise some problems, "I wonder how much chakra I have? I'm going to need more equipment if I want to open up a shop but to do that, I need more chakra to upgrade the items."

 _ **Chakra: Academy Student**_

 _ **Chakra Points: 12/105**_

The information appeared in his head once he had asked the question.

"Nice," he said with a grin lighting up his round features.

He decided to make a plan of all the things he needed to accomplish if he hoped to live a long and prosperous life as a civilian, and once he was finished he went to sleep. It was Friday, so he had two days off before he needed to attend classes again.

(Next day)

Waking up, he started by doing morning stretches, his goal was to be able to touch his toes by the end of the month, a hard task for him.

After eating a mixture of things from the fridge he took half of his savings and decided to go shopping, plus he wanted to scout out the merchandise of the other stores.

He bid the old manager a goodbye before leaving.

Walking down the street he tried to get a sense of where he was but being waist level to many of the adults walking around made it difficult to see in the crowds. Finally, after some time he was able to make it the shop where he bought most of his equipment.

It was an old shop, manned by a single old man in his sixties. The man was simply called Old Shin by the customers and he doubted anyone knew his real name, not even Shin.

Opening the door, he heard the bell ring, indicating that someone had opened the door. Shin was hunched over as he stocked some of the shelves with more equipment. He was tall and thin, the large number of scars on his face and hands told him that the old man used to be a shinobi before becoming a shop owner. He was wearing a simple blue kimono with his white hair tied in a traditional top bun, making him look like one of those old samurais that Kenji A used to see in movies.

Shin nodded in his direction before going back to stacking the shelves.

It was no surprise that he was quick to being dismissed as a threat, his overall appearance wasn't in any way threating. A fat, short, and squinty eyed ten-year-old was hardly the most intimidating sight.

The shop was small, but it had a large variety of equipment ranging from swords to bo staffs, explosion tags to smoke pellets, even those supposed nasty tasting ration bars.

He browsed through the aisle scanning the weapons and armor. Picking up a long wooden bo staff from the stack in the corner he looked at it and the information poured to his head.

 **Bo Staff**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Attack: 203**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 48**

Placing the staff back on the rack he began to look at more of the weapons and some of the armor.

 **Katana**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Attack: 432**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 80**

 **Kunai**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Attack: 160**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 24**

 **Tanto**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Attack: 305**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 45**

 **Iron Arm Guard**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Defense: 369**

 **Chakra points Needed to Upgrade: 25**

 **Chainmail Shirt**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Defense: 85**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 17**

It was then that he stopped and stared at the display case that had a giant Najinata, easily nine feet tall.

 **Naginata**

 **Quality: Low Human**

 **Attack: 785**

 **+Chakra Metal was added in the process of forging, making it stronger and sharper than normal weapons, it is chakra conductive.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 150**

'So low human is the next level after Ordinary. It makes me wonder what quality one of the swords from the Seven Ninja Swordsman is at,' Kenji thought to himself as he made his way toward the counter at the back of the store.

Behind the counter were more weapons being displayed by hooks, as well as scrolls that looked like they might be used for sealing.

Shin who was seated in a chair behind the glass display counter, reading what he could tell was an Icha Icha Paradise book, didn't pay him any mind as he looked at all of the things behind the glass counter. There were small smoke pellets, chakra replenishing pills, solider pills, ninja wire, some type of food bar, and explosive seals.

Now that he thought about it, there was something that he had yet to see.

"Shin, can you give me one of those ration bars?" he asked as he began to take out the money from his dumpling shaped wallet.

Shin looked at him with an incredulous look, "You actually want one? Those things taste like cardboard mixed with dog shit. I've never heard of anyone actually eating one that wasn't half starving and delirious from hunger."

He shook his head up and down, "Yep."

Still looking skeptical shin got off his chair and reached behind the counter and took out a ration bar and placed it on the counter, "Fine kid. It's be 50 Ryo."

Putting the appropriate amount on the counter, he grabbed the bar that was wrapped in some shinny metal wrapping paper. He ripped one end open and the first thing to hit him was the awful smell of strong vitamins and minerals. Taking it fully out of the wrapper he saw that it was the same shape as a granola bar, but it looked and felt more like a piece of white chalk.

Shin had yet to take the money from the counter instead waiting for the boy's reaction of talking his first bite.

'So I can't upgrade food. That's a shame, but I guess that makes sense, I didn't upgrade that ketchup bottle yesterday after all,' the pudgy boy thought as he brought the bar closer to his mouth, curious to see if it was as bad as people made it out to be. Slowly he took a small bite, taking a fourth of the entire thing in his mouth and chewing it a bit.

He let it dissolve for a bit before moving it around in his mouth to get a clear flavor. Kenji's face stayed impassive as he found that it tasted like chalk, quickly drying up his mouth and throat. It was also very bitter and tasted like someone had mixed in powdered garlic and fish oil. "What an interesting taste and texture," he commented as he threw the rest of the bar into his mouth.

Once he was done eating, he turned to the aged ninja that was looking at him like he had grown an extra head. Then he looked behind him to see a small poster.

 _ **Ration Bar Challenge**_

 _ **Rules**_

 _ **1) Eat 20 Rations in 30 Minutes**_

 _ **2) Ration bars must be eaten plain without any additional flavors.**_

 _ **3) Only water can be drunk during the challenge**_

 _ **4) If you lose, you pay for all 20 Ration bars**_

 _ **Prizes:**_

 _ **1 Advanced Ninja pack**_

 _ **1 Equipment of Your Choice (5000 Ryo or lower)**_

 _ **3 Sealing scrolls**_

"Hey what's that," Kenji said as he pointed to the poster, wondering if he should join the challenge.

Shin looked behind him to see the poster before looking at the boy that could be more than 4 feet and a half, and looked as round as a beach ball. "The challenge? It's just a gimmick to sell more ration bars. No one's been able to beat it, although an Akamichi did come close a couple of years back. Got to 14 before he couldn't take it anymore and threw up all over the floor, not that I can blame him. Why? You want to try it?"

"Sure do. Here, it's 1,000 Ryo to enter right. Oh and I'll also take some water if you have any," the smiling boy said as he placed the money next to the stupefied man.

Shaking his head, Shin looked amused as he took the money and handed over the twenty ration bars, "Fine kid, just don't puke on my floor, or else I'll have you clean up the entire shop."

Kenji just nodded as he sat down against the counter, unwrapped the first bar and took a bite, thinking about what he had just learned about his new skill as well as making plans for his own store.

23:58 minutes later Kenji stepped outside the shop with one advanced Ninja Pack, a wooden jian (Chinese sword), 3 sealing scrolls, and a box full of ration bars as a gift. He had won the challenge, and his picture was being hung up on the wall by Shin. The pudgy boy was happy, he got to try something new and received a bunch of equipment without having to pay for it.

Now he just needed to shop for groceries and he could go home.

But as he was making his way to the supermarket, he saw something that caught his attention. A traveling monk was seated outside of some type of convince store meditating, people passing by would drop Ryo at his feet where a small cup was at. He would thank them and offer them a blessing.

Kenji A and B were never the religious kind, but Kenji C was willing to give it a try. He was proof that there really was something to this whole reincarnation thing after all. With that he made up his mind and headed to the direction of the sitting monk.

* * *

 **A/N: So I this is the first chapter of this fanfic I am working on. It began as just a silly idea after reading to many cultivation novels, but then slowly it began to grow into an actual fic.**

 **My inspiration for this is from a Chines Novel called** **Upgrade Specialist in Another World** **. I liked how the MC could upgrade normal everyday objects until they could go against even the strongest weapons. He leveled a brick so much that it could defeat Cultivation Masters.**

 **Anyways, this fanfic will obviously be different. First of all, cultivation has not been invented in this world. A cultivator in the Naruto Universe, I feel needs to gathering Nature Chakra into their bodies, but instead of letting it go, they slowly mix it into their body permanently.**

 **Another thing is that like in most cultivation fanfic there will be certain levels that someone has to pass to reach the next level. Here's a brief overview:**

 **Stage 1: Activating the chakra pathways.**

 **Stage 2: Begin purifying the chakra**

 **Stage 3: Fill the 1** **st** **chakra gate with purified chakra**

 **Stage 4: Fill the 2** **nd** **chakra gate with purified chakra**

 **Stage 5: Fill the 3** **rd**

 **Stage 6: 4** **th**

 **Stage 7: 5** **th**

 **Stage 8: 6** **th**

 **Stage 9: 7** **th**

 **Stage 10: 8** **th**

 **Each new stage will bring about new benefits such as stronger skin, aura, chakra reserves, even new elemental affinities.**

 **As for the upgrade system the first three Ranks have been shown.**

 **Poor, Ordinary, and Low Human**

 **Next is the most Chakra Points, this is the normal amount for the average ranks. Obviously, this doesn't include people like Naruto or those with huge amounts of chakra.**

 **Chakra points:**

 **civilian 50**

 **Academy student 500**

 **genin 1000**

 **Chunnin 2000**

 **Jonin 3000**

 **Kage 5000**

 **Tailed beasts 10000+**


	2. Kaguya's Talisman

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references that you might notice in the fanfic.**

 **Chapter 2**

Stopping only a few feet away from the sitting monk, Kenji lowered his belongings to the floor and joined him on the ground, taking a spot right in front of him. "Hey can I ask you something?"

"What is it you seek little one," the monk said as he opened his eyes to stare at the curious child in front of him. He was wearing the traditional monk clothes that you would expect in anime and drawings, a shaved head reflected the sun, and he had a kind and understanding smile.

"I was hoping if you can tell me a bit more about your beliefs," the small boy said as he tried to lean in closer.

"What specifically would you like me to discuss?"

"I recently had an experience having to do with death, can you tell me what you think of life after it?"

"Death is a hard concept to understand little one, but from the pack you carry I feel it safe to assume that you are a training to be a shinobi. A very hazardous job in my opinion," the monk said as he gestured to his pack.

Kenji scratched his head as he answered back, "Yeah, but I'm only an academy student right now. I also don't know how I feel about taking the life of another living being."

"I understand, many people have often pondered on the matter of life and death. But the one thing you must understand is that both life and death are connect. Death gives meaning to life, just as how life gives meaning to death. It is natural to mourn for the departed but one must understand that death is just as natural as living."

Kenji nodded unsurely as if trying to wrap his head around the idea.

"But there is no need to worry child, for the body is only a temporary vessel for the spirit. The spirit itself is eternal, once the body dies all of the kami in the body is released and recycled back into nature while the spirit will go to the pure world," the monk said as he gestured to his surroundings, specifically to that of a weed that was growing beside him when he saw the boy look confused. "Take this small plant for example, despite it being so small it is filled with kami. Kami is the spiritual force that binds everything together, the birds, the plants, the rivers, even mountains are considered to have kami. Some deities or gods are made up of Kami, and these are the ones that we pray to."

'This kami thing, sounds an awful lot like nature chakra,' Kenji thought. "So what about people that have died, can they be return to the world?"

"They may visit the world on certain days and can even see into this world from the pure lands, but they can never again be allowed to walk the earth as they once were," the monk declared.

It didn't satisfy his curiosity, but he guessed that that was enough of an answer for the time being. He knew for a fact that reincarnation was a thing in this universe seeing as both Sasuke and Naruto were reincarnations, but what did that say about someone from another world.

Looking at the monk he asked something else, "Monk-san, do you happen to have any talisman that I can see."

He nodded before reaching into his robe and pulled out an ofuda, paper talisman, "I do infact have one, it is a good luck charm for safe travels."

Kenji took the extended charm into his hands with the outmost care.

 **Good Luck Talisman**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **\+ 3% more luck during travels.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 30**

'So it is just as I thought, I can upgrade seals as well. Even better is the fact that this means that luck can also be improved. Perhaps I can find a talisman that will help improve the chances of upgrading equipment,' concluded the pudgy boy as he observed it carefully.

Although this was the first time holding one since his creation, Kenji was familiar with talismans on account of his older half. Kenji A came from a blacksmithing family that used such talismans during the forging process, in hopes that it would bless the steal. They were even given special permission by the local shrine to create such charms, so he was well versed in the making of such talismans.

Giving the charm back to the monk he stood up and took out a 500 Ryo bill before dropping it in his cup. "Thank you for the information."

The monk thanked him as he picked up his things and began to walk away, he still needed to get food and make even more supplies, but that talisman did give him some new ideas.

(Scene change)

Back in his apartment Kenji was sitting on his floor with different pieces of paper scattered around him, all with different designs.

"Huh, it seems that I can't just make my own. I wonder if I'm missing something?" he pondered out loud as he scratched his head. Looking at one of the pieces of rectangular papers, it had the basic characteristics of a talisman, the very center had the name of the deity who's power he had to invoke while on the bottom it had a basic prayer along what he wanted it to do. He tried feeding it chakra to see if that would do anything, but all it did was upgrade it by a point in defense, making it as stiff as a playing card.

It was then that he slabbed himself on his forehead, "Of course! The name of the deity doesn't work in this world because they don't exist here. But then how am I supposed to make talismans without a deity? Does Konoha even have a shrine? And if they did, would they even let me make talismans for myself?"

Standing up he stretched his limbs and walked to the newly stocked fridge. He had spent all the money he had taken with him on buying things he would need, it had been a hassle to drag it all back to his apartment until he remembered he had sealing scrolls. Opening the door of the fridge he scanned the inside for anything knew he hadn't tried yet, he still had taste buds that he wanted to break in. Taking out an onion from the vegetable compartment he bit into it and closed the doors. The juice of the onion hurt his eyes, but it didn't taste as bad as the memories told him it did.

It was already night out so he couldn't be too loud, but he paced around the room trying to think of a way to fix his problem. It had occurred to him that these talismans would be a big help to him in his crafting if they could increase the chances of upgrading items. What was better was that despite the enormous hype that fuinjustu received in being able to do anything, he had never once heard of a seal being able to increase something like luck before.

He stopped his pacing and walked over to the window by the bed.

Taking another bite of his onion he looked out to see the full moon shine over the citizens of his new home.

"The moon sure is big tonight. Hmm…" looking at the onion in his hand he noticed that he had bitten to the core, placing it side by side with the moon outside he began to get an idea, "Could it be possible?"

Deciding to give it a try he picked up a rectangular piece of parchment and a ink brush, dipping the tip of the brush into an ink bottle mixed with drops of his blood, he wrote down the character's for 'Kaguya' and then the rest of the prayer in what looked like three circles around the center to make it look like a rinnegan. He lit up a small candle and some incenses that he had bought earlier that day and passed the talisman through the fire and smoke three times before he placed them beside the candle.

All he needed to do now was wait for the candle to full burn out to see if it had worked. "It should work in theory. She is technically a deity since she absorbed the powers of the chakra fruit, and the Chakra Tree could be considered a god and was probably full of Kami, but will it be enough. Usually gods and deities gain their power from how many worshipers they have, and right now she is practically unknown by almost everyone except for Black Zetzu and me."

It took fifteen minutes but once the candle's flame finally went out he took a look at the talisman.

 **Kaguya Craftsman Talisman**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **\+ 50 % increase in your luck during the crafting or upgrading of items.(Cannot be used to upgrade talismans.)**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 10**

"Yes! It worked!" Kenji shouted as he stood up to his feet and did a little jig while holding the talisman. "Now all the parchment and paper I bought won't be put to waste."

He looked over at the boxes of materials he had bought earlier that day. He had two boxes full of such parchment which brought him to about a little less than 4,000 more tags he could create. Taking out about fifty pieces of parchment he began to go throw the monotone duty of repeating the process and the set them on the side until the small candle burned out. Now that he knew he could create talismans, it was time to get to other business.

He took his wooden sword, it was a shaped like a Chinese double-edged sword that was common in wuxia novels. Seeing as he was in a fantasy world, he hoped that maybe somethings would be the same, like the air walking since that would make running away much easier.

 **Wooden Sword**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Attack: 80**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 25**

Sending chakra into the wooden sword he planned to upgrade it as much as possible before passing out and letting his reserves get up full while he slept, then he would test it tomorrow.

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 **Wooden Sword +4**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Attack: 80**

 **\+ 160 Attack**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 30**

He felt his chakra plummet and his vision started to get fuzzy, he just had enough energy to clumsily throw himself on his bed with one final thought, 'I will be the greatest craftsman the world has ever known.'

It was several hours later before he woke up again and after stretching and making a quick breakfast he got his supplies and headed outside. Today was reserved for training in his new abilities, just because he didn't want to fight didn't mean that he was opposed to learn some of those chakra abilities.

He had the shinobi pack that he had won yesterday strapped to his back, which was almost the same size as him. The small boy had only briefly looked at the contents yesterday before he started to make the talismans.

He arrived at training ground 0-B, a place reserved for academy students that was only a few blocks away from the school. Luckily there was no one there, but that wasn't a surprise since it was barely 5 AM on a Sunday morning.

Unstrapping his backpack, he decided to get a workout before starting his experiments.

Kenji who had the memories of a writer, new that this was usually the part where the protagonist would say something motivating and start an outrageous training program that would be considered inhuman by man, usually involving running dozens of miles or doing hundreds of push-ups but unlike the people in Kenji A's stories, he was still human. He was only able to do 3 laps around the clearing before he had to rest, and was only able to do 23 ½ pushups before his body refused to get off the ground.

He turned himself over to stare at the sky from his down ward position, a heavy amount of sweat was dripping off him. "Training is harder than I thought. Damn main characters and their wills of steel, this just proves that fighting wasn't meant for a fluffy guy like me. Still, I should be fit enough to at least run away from danger."

Struggling to his feet, he dragged himself to his pack and unzipped the opening before proceeding to turn it over, so all of the items fell to the ground. He organized it into groups to get a better look at what he had to work with.

 _ **Kunai X 18**_

 _ **Shuriken X 30**_

 _ **Explosion Tag X 15**_

 _ **Flash Tag X 20**_

 _ **Smoke Pellets X 10**_

 _ **Spool of Ninja Wire X 5**_

 _ **Large Medical Kit X 1**_

 _ **Sealing Scroll X 1**_

Taking the large medical kit that looked like a rectangular green leather bag with a red cross on the front he opened up to see what it contained.

 _ **Blood replenishing Pills X 20**_

 _ **Solider Pills X 10**_

 _ **Ration Bar X 5**_

 _ **Bandages X 15**_

 _ **Band-Aid X 40**_

 _ **Disinfecting X 2**_

 _ **Healing paste X 1**_

 _ **Surgical tools X 1**_

Kenji took a single band-aid to see if he could upgrade it.

 **Band-aid**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Defense: 0**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 1**

"So it isn't just weapons and armor that can be upgraded, but also things like this. But what could upgrading something like this do, since it has no defense points at all. Still I should try it since it's only 1 point," the chubby student said as he began to upgrade the small band-aid.

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 **Band-aid +1**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Defense: 0**

 **\+ 5 Vitality**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 1**

"+ 5 Vitality? I wonder what that means. Is it talking about health or something like in those games or does it mean something else. Another thing that I'm now noticing is that some of the upgrade points needed to upgrade to the next level stay the same. Does it have anything to do with the quality of the item or the just the item in question. Oh well, only one way to find out?" he said with a shrug as he proceeding to upgrade it to the highest level possible.

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 _ **Upgrade Failed**_

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 _ **Upgrade Failed**_

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 **Band-Aid +10**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Defense: 0**

 **\+ 50 Vitality**

 **+10: Triples the natural recover of any wound that is placed underneath the band-aid.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 2**

Looking at the normal looking band-aid between his fingers he wanted to test out the effect but didn't know how since he was unharmed, and he was not about to injure himself just for his curiosity.

Taking a couple more band-aids he decided to upgrade them as well since he had plenty of time.

A couple of minutes later, after many failures he finally had two more +10 band-aids and a +14 band-aid.

"So the talisman's really did work, although I had to use 10 just for this one band-aid alone. Perhaps I should make stronger ones in the future."

 **Band-Aid +14**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Defense: 0**

 **\+ 70 Vitality**

 **+10: Triples the natural recover of any wound that is placed underneath the band-aid.**

 **+12: 1% chance to heal injury instantly**

 **+14: 2% regeneration of injuries so long as they have enough chakra. Chakra will be slowly siphoned off from the host to make medical chakra.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 2**

He gently picked it up and inspected it before commenting on his latest discoveries, "Wow, so it gains a special skill once it reaches level 10, 12, 14. Would that mean that it also gains one at level 16 and 18? Plus those skills sure are incredible, if a simple band-aid is capable of converting chakra into medical chakra then it would be a huge selling point to shinobi teams that don't have a medic on the team. Looks like I found my first product for the store,"

He wanted to experiment some more, but right now his reserves were already at half capacity and he still wanted to test at least the academy jutsus.

Getting into a stance he slowly began to go through the handsigns for the substitution jutsu but didn't applying any chakra just yet. Once he felt that he had a clear grasp on the jutsu he molded his chakra to match each handsign. He felt chakra leave his body like whenever he upgraded an item, but this time he just felt it was being expelled from his body before his vision suddenly shifted.

One second, he was standing next to his pack on the ground, next he was floating 10 feet away covered in smoke and seeing how a random log had taken his place, worse yet was that the sky had decided to switch places with the ground. Kenji's only thought was, 'I forgot to set the destination before applying the jutsu,' then he fell to the ground face first.

He saw stars and it left him dazed for some minutes, he touched his nose and saw his fingers covered in blood. "So this is blood, I don't think I like it. Put at least now I can test one of the band-aids."

Taking out the first one he had created he took off the plastic back and after whipping his nose of some blood he applied it to the bridge of his nose. He immediately felt chakra get sucked into the band-aid and felt his pain lesson by some degree. "Oh! So this is the effect of a +10 band-aid. I felt a small amount of chakra get sucked inside, so does this mean that all special abilities need chakra to activate?"

The small ten-year old decided to leave those questions for later when he wasn't suffering from a head injury.

Walking over to his pack he began to inspect the rest of the items and upgrade at least some of them with the remainder of his chakra.

 **Explosive Tag +1**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Attack: 350**

 **\+ 50 Attack**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 15**

 **Kunai +1**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Attack: 160**

 **+40 Attack**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 24**

 **Shuriken +1**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Attack: 120**

 **+30 Attack**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 7**

He stopped before he could go on any longer since he was dangerously close to losing the rest of his chakra from upgrading all of those items and the substitution jutsu.

 _ **Chakra: Academy Student**_

 _ **Chakra Points: 10/115**_

"However there is still one thing I want to test, and I should have enough chakra for this," he said as he went to his pack and got out a small red bag that was tied with a string. Unwrapping the string, he opened it and saw dozens of cheap pieces of jewelry inside, most being made of plastic or colorful glass. There were rings, bracelets, necklaces, even some earing since he wanted to test out what effect they might have once he leveled them up. He had almost a hundred different pieces to test and it only costed him 5 yen each.

 **Red Glass Ring**

 **Quality: Poor**

 **Defense: 0**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 1**

"No special attributes huh?"

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 **Red Glass Ring +1**

 **Quality: Poor**

 **Defense: 0**

 **\+ 10 Chakra Points**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 1**

"Nice," he said as he slipped onto his finger and immediately felt his chakra fill up again. Taking it off he felt it leave him again, "So the boost is only temporary. Figures. Still with more of these rings I could upgrade more stuff at a faster rate, I hope I can create one that will boost my chakra regeneration."

Sealing everything back in scroll, he decided it was time to explore a little more about the place that would be his new home. Plus he needed to know if there was any chances that he could get out of being a shinobi in the first place.

"To the library!" the excitable round boy shouted to no one in particular.

(Scene change)

He was seated in one of the long wooden tables in the public library completely hidden by the large mountain of books that he had gathered around him. Kenji could hear giggling around him, glancing up from the notebook he had been writing on he glanced around the room and spotted a couple of civilian girls pointing at him while covering their mouths. He supposed that the sight of a small boy surrounded by books and studying so intensely would be pretty funny, especially if their legs didn't even reach the floor and dangled off the seat.

'My to do list is growing bigger. If I want to protect myself from the things that are coming, I need a lot to do. First of all, I should work on my speed, if I hope to even survive until my twenties I must be able to escape dangerous situations. I'll practice the substitution jutsu, and the shushun jutsu until I can effectively dodge high level opponents,' he thought as he wrote it down on a new page.

'Next, I'll need to gain knowledge in healing if I'm ever unable to escape. Medical ninjutsu would be a huge help in that regard, I'm sure that I'll be able to find a scroll on the exact jutsus later.'

'Third, would be taijutsu. If I'm forced to fight an enemy, then I should at least be able to stall them until reinforcements come, or at least until I find an opportunity to escape. Thankfully Kenji A was well practiced in the art of fighting, as he had come from an old traditional Japanese family that still practiced fighting with weapons, plus he did plenty of research in Chinese Kempo for his novels. Kenji B was also at least knowledgeable in the Academy fighting style, so now I have multiple references.'

'The last order of business, is finding a safer place to live, or at least moving towards the outer part of the village. I don't fancy having my home being destroyed in a couple of years my Pein. Maybe I can move to the Capital, never heard of anything happening there. But to do that, I'm going to need money and a lot of it.'

Looking at the books around him he thought of an idea, 'Maybe I can write and sell novels like Kenji A. Of course I'm going to need to change a couple of things that they might not understand but I'm sure that I can at least sell enough to make a living.' The round dumpling looking boy once again thanked his past reincarnations for all of the information he received.

"Now then, it's time to start studying," he thought with a determined look.

He spent the next hours looking through books having to do with medicine, plants and herbs, crafting, law, and even just a children books, since anything having to do with chakra had been locked away in the shinobi library that was located in the Hokage Monument.

It was only until he could no longer ignore his growling stomach that he finally left the library.

Looking at the position of the sun, Kenji estimated that it was around four in the afternoon. He wondered the food stalls in the market area just buying small things, wanting to test everything. Finally, he arrived at a very familiar ramen stand, it was Ichiraku, thankfully there was no orange clad blonde there.

Hopping onto a seat he looked at the menu.

A brown-haired girl smiled at him and asked in a friendly tone, "What would you like to order?"

"Hmmm, I don't know. How about a miso ramen?" he said as he got out the money from his wallet, it was about 50 ryo per bowl.

"One miso coming up," she nodded before turning to the back where she yelled her order to her father. She didn't say anything else as she went back to cleaning the counter or preparing some of the sides but that was okay in Kenji's book. He didn't want to cause to much of a ripple by interacting with anyone too soon.

Five minutes later Ayame, placed a steaming hot bowl of ramen in front of him. Taking a pair of chopsticks he began to eat it slowly, trying to taste every single noodle and every drop of broth until it was all gone. "That was good."

"I glad you enjoyed it," Ayame said as she had taken to staring at him for some while, a large smile plastered on her face as she observed him.

"Thank you for the meal," he bowed to her before hopping off his seat and began to make his way out. However before he exited the stand he stopped and stood there conflicted on what he should do. With a sigh he turned back around and opened up his dumpling shaped purse and took about 1000 Ryo worth of money before placing it on the counter.

Ayame looked confused, "What's wrong, do you want another bowl?"

"No. …Yes," Kenji responded to her, "I do, but not for me."

"Okay, so who's this ramen going to?" the girl said as she took out a notepad to write down the order.

"Do you know a blonde kid wearing an orange jumpsuit that always yells about being Hokage. Give them to him if he is ever short on money," the small academy student said as he began to head back out again.

"Naruto-kun? Why would you do that?" she said shocked that anyone else would do something for the small boy she considered her little brother.

"The future Hokage shouldn't miss a meal," was all he said before walking away. He knew from Kenji A's memories that Naruto would have to go through many hardships if he ever wanted to achieve his dreams, and although he was unable to help him, that didn't mean that he couldn't show his support every now and then. He was cautious to interfere with anything having to do with him since he knew that every single death, every single moment of sadness, and every dangerous situation that the blonde would find himself in would ultimately shape him into the great hero that he would destined to be.

Taking a stroll back to the training ground he took out his wooden sword stood in front of a set of three large wooden logs that was in the middle of the clearing, "Now then, I should really get back to training."

He took the upgraded sword in his right hand and swung it as hard as he could in a downward strike. The sword smashed into it and amazingly left a small gash in the bark of the wood, inspecting the sword Kenji noticed that it didn't have a single scratch on it. Now that he knew that it wouldn't break at the first chance, he got into a proper stance, and began to go through the different kata's that his past self knew. He would swing, and then spin out of the way, before going in for a thrust and dodging to the side. He was constantly on the move, never staying still for even a second before going on the offensive again.

Stab, spin, swing, slash, jump back, twirl, block, block, block, kick, slash. It went on for some time until he collapsed to his knees and panted heavily, his wrist was sore from all of the hits and the logs had many marks, but Kenji was happy at the progress no matter how little it was.

Checking his chakra level again, he noticed that it had only raised by 20 points since the morning, a deal slower than when he would use up all of his chakra from upgrading. Usually he would sleep and two hours later his reserves would be full again with the added bonus of it gaining 5 more points to his total reserve.

Kenji planted the sword in the ground and started to do more stretching trying to limber himself up. He had plenty of time before he needed to go home, and he was going to use it to the best of his abilities. Once he felt that he wouldn't pull anything he began to go through some more katas but this time without the sword, only hands and feet. This style involved a lot of palm strikes and sweeping attacks, focusing on either dodging or directing the opponents attacks rather than taking them head on. It looked very similar to the Hyuuga fighting style in fact but without the chakra attacks, almost like more combat-oriented form of tai chi.

By the time that the sun had set, Kenji was exhausted. While the katas were done slowly it still took much stamina to maintain a steady rhythm and try to let one kata flow into another seamlessly.

Arriving back at his home, he took a bath to wash away all of the sweat and dirt from training, and after making dinner resumed his talisman making. He hopped to make enough to upgrade his sword to level 10.

While he set them to finish, he took a blank piece of paper and began the boring process of trying to rewrite all of the novels that Kenji A had ever written or read. "I think I'm going to need more paper. I also have to remember to sleep early, tomorrow I have school."

Taking a carful feel of his chakra reserves he noticed that they were two thirds of the way full, "I should probably upgrade more items before going to bed."

The small ten-year old stood hunched over a make shift cardboard desk, never noticing the talismans give off a strange aura before stopping.

* * *

 **A/N: Another chapter done. Hope you enjoyed it.**

 **If there is any buff or ability that you would like to see in the story, write down in the comment section and it might get a place in later chapters.**

 **The novel is called Upgrade Specialist in Another World and I read it in .**

 **I will also work on my other fanfic like Bad Guys Need a Win Too and Neville the Gamer next if anyone was wondering.**


	3. The pill furnace

**Disclaimer: I don't Naruto or any other references mentioned in this fanfic.**

 **Chapter 3**

Kenji stared blankly at the front of the room, his hand moving in random circles as he doodled on a piece of paper. The teacher was writing something down on the board while the rest of his classmates wrote it down. He let out a breath of disappointment at the monotone moment.

It had been 1 month since he was born, and he had progressed a lot in that time, his goal to live the cushy life of a civilian was still very much a go, but he did run into a few problems.

His original plan had been to publish his books and hopefully raise enough money to pay back his loan, but that had proved harder than he thought. With a few finished manuscripts he had gone to the biggest publishing company in Konoha, they owned the production rights of the Icha Icha novels. He hoped of striking a deal with them but what he got was disappointment. It wasn't that his novels were bad, in fact it was the opposite, the chief had absolutely loved them. She had only read the first half of his novel when she right out told him that his books would sell like hotcakes. No, the problem laid in the fact that he was a ten-year old child, and therefore considered a minor in the eyes of the law. Say what you will about the civilian council, but they took the safety of the non-shinobi populace very seriously.

What all this meant was that he couldn't sign a legally binding contract without the approval of a guardian, but he was an orphan, and academy student to be exact. He had waved off the position of a guardian once he had signed the contract to be let into the academy making adoption invalid, so in a sense he was screwed. The chief was nice enough to explain it to him, but there was nothing either one of them could do, the chief seemed to be the one most disappointed actually, as she had wanted to leave the stigma that her company had gotten from publishing one of the most perverted books in the entire Elemental Nations.

If he wanted to have money then he needed to publish his book, but to do that he needed to be considered an adult, but to do _that_ he needed to become a ninja. Kenji hated the position he was in, but there was only one way to go, he needed to become a ninja as soon as possible, publish his books, somehow retire early, and then set up a shop to live the rest of his life in a hopefully danger free enviornment.

He had done some research and had found out that a ninja could retire early if they suffered grave wounds while out on a mission (like dismemberment), came down with a life-threatening illness (cancer), or served 5 years as a genin without promotion. If they became a chunin the amount required would be raised to 7 years, and becoming a jonin basically meant for life (15) or until you died which with the life expectancies of shinobi, it was far more likely to die on a mission than retire.

The only plus side to his situation was that he was in a reserve classroom.

What this meant was that although they didn't get the best or most resources they did receive some options. The major being that when they took the graduating test they could apply for a team or remain single, each had its own benefits. Being part of a team meant you could take harder missions, and a jonin team would be assigned to you, also a training ground would be reserved for you.

Being single meant that you would act as a substitute if another team had a vacancy, meaning they gained a lot more experience working with other people. They could also take D-rank missions alone and not have to split the profit with the rest of the team. Another benefit was that they could set their own work hours as long as they completed the set amount of missions needed each month. Kenji had decided that the second option was best suited for him.

The only problem was that the next graduation exam wasn't until a few months from now in late June and it was only the beginning of March. He had also needed to pay the 10,000 Ryo admission fee to take the test early.

He had studied the textbooks back to front dozens of times already and spent a majority of his time working on his fitness. Kenji didn't think he would break any school records, but he could at least pass with the bare minimum as he was right now, and he was also confident in his chakra control.

 _Riiiiiing*_

The young boy was startled out of his daze when he heard the sound of the bell ring, meaning that the school was done for the day.

The sensei looked at the clock before turning to the class to address everyone, "It seems we've run out of time. Don't forget to study the material we discussed today. Also remember that there will be a test once you get back from your two-week break."

With that he dismissed the classroom and literally everyone headed for the exit, most rushing to the door, while others opted for the window.

Kenji didn't do either as instead he stayed in his seat until everyone was gone, it was a lot less troublesome to let them go first after all. "Two whole weeks huh, better use them wisely," he said as he walked toward his sensei that was already cleaning the chalk board.

Kenji had changed the way the he dressed now, he wore a green yukata with long sleeves, blue sandals, a yellow scarf, red bandana and a white silk haori jacket that reached the back of his knees. The baggy clothes helped obstruct his body and all the various pieces or armor he was hiding underneath, case in point was were the three layers of mesh armor he was wearing under his clothes. He had lost _some_ weight form all the exercise he was doing but with all the added padding and armor he carried it looked like he had actually gained more.

"Ah, Sensei? Do you know if my application was accepted?" he asked the man.

"Oh, Kenji you're still here. For a moment I thought you had left with the others," he said sounding embarrassed for forgetting him, "and yes, I have your permission slip here,"

The man then reached into one of the drawers on his desk and took out a signed document before handing it to an excited Kenji, "Here you go. You can now train at training ground 5-A. You don't have to worry about sharing it since no one else has come to ask for permission, so you should have the entire thing to yourself for the duration of the break."

Looking over the rules and directions on the paper he looked up at the chunin, "Thanks Sensei!"

He nodded at the small boy, "It's fine, just make sure to train hard, you hear."

Kenji nodded as he walked out of the room with a giddy expression.

He made it back to his room in record time. The small pint-sized boy was going to use this break to really practice for the exam as well as start to build up his clientele for his future shop. He also wanted to experiment on a couple of ideas he had been having.

Kenji took out a large yellow backpack, that was not unlike that of a certain time-traveling priestess, from his closet and started packing a multitude of things he was planning to sell or use.

 **Yellow Peddlers Bag +13**

 **Quality: Low Man**

 **Defense: 21**

 **\+ 810**

 **\+ 70 Endurance**

 **10 +: Weight is reduced to 1/3 of its normal amount.**

 **12 +: Space inside is expanded to 5X its original amount.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 110**

The bag was 3ft x 2ft x 3ft and could normal carry 18 cubic feet, but with the upgrade it could now carry 90 cubic feet with a third of the weight, plus the added endurance allowed would give him more stamina, making long trips easier.

With this he could pack more items and not have to worry about making more than one trip. After shoving his camping gear, food supplies, and other things he wanted to test, he set it aside to finish buying the things he needed.

Locking the door behind him he headed off to the Yamanaka's flower shop, to pick out some ingredients making sure to only go in once he was certain that neither Ino or her parents were attending the counter, less interactions with the main cast meant less butterfly effects. A few days ago he had finally cracked the method to making pills and elixirs like the ones in the wuxia novels that Kenji A used to write, and he was excited to see what other things he could make. He also needed to pick up the flyers that he had ordered to promote the temporary shop he would set up at the training ground.

"I guess I should finally test that new talisman I've been working on now that I've got the chance," Kenji said as he took out a small yellow talisman from the depths of his clothes and activated it.

 **Kaguya's Lucky Encounter Talisman**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **\+ 200 % Increase to any lucky encounters you normally would have had for 3 hours.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 10**

Picking out the herbs and plants was a simple thing as he had studied extensively on all of those plants with beneficial properties. He really hopped that he could sell something during the break because just this purchase had left him in the red for the month. He paid for them to deliver it to his apartment since he still had some other things to do.

It only took a moment to reach the printing shop and pick out his flyers.

 **Visit Kenji's Store of Marvels**

 **Location: Training Ground 5-A**

 _ ***Exotic weapons and tools for all, both civilian and shinobi. Mystical armor and equipment guaranteed.**_

 _ ***Reasonable prices on all purchases.**_

 _ ***Guaranteed diet pills that work in moments, watch the fat slide right off ;)**_

 _ ***Magic elixirs and pills for every occasion.**_

 _ ***Need luck? Have a crush that doesn't pay attention to you? Check out our talismans and lucky charms.**_

 _ **** Random gift given to customers that make a 10,000 Ryo purchase with this flyer.**_

The paper was purpose made colorful to attract the eye and there was a chibi drawing of him with his bandana in the corner giving a close eyed peace sign, as well as a map on the back giving direction to the training ground.

Feeling satisfied he left the place with 400 flyers intent on handing all of them that day.

Walking around the market area he handed out flyers to all of the casual shoppers, targeting mostly those that looked like they were shinobi or looked like they had money to spend. It might have been the talisman but the number of people that actually accepted them was a lot higher than he thought until he was left with only one.

Looking at the sole piece of paper he got an idea, "I should post this in a place that many people walk by. I think that the Hokage tower has a bulletin board at the entrance for advertisements."

Feeling lucky, he headed in that direction choosing to use the rooftops to make it there faster. Stepping inside of the imposing building he located the mission counter where shinobi could ask for missions, to the side was a large bulleting board the size of the wall and covered inch to inch with different flyers ranging to lost and found posters to simple jobs.

People that usually didn't have the money to pay for a mission would sometimes leave small task here and hope that someone would take them. The reward was much less than missions, and not everyone offered cash rewards, but at least anyone could take them, even other civilians.

The room was empty, so he walked towards the counter, having to stand on the tip of his toes just to be seen, "Hey can I borrow a stapler?" he asked the bored receptionist.

The man finally noticed him, having to lean over slightly to see Kenji, before he shrugged his shoulders and handed over a stapler, "Huh? Oh yeah, sure kid."

"Thanks!"

Taking the stapler, the small boy finally went back to the board to find the perfect place to hang it. It was just as he found the perfect spot that something attacked him.

Some type of fur covered ball had hit him in the side of the head and nocked him over, sending him tumbling on the floor.

"Tora-chan!" came the voice of a woman.

Kenji looked at the ceiling above with some amount of confusion, 'Tora-chan? But my name's Kenji.' It was then that he felt something squirm beneath him. Reaching under him he saw a fat orange brown striped cat trying to escape. Kenji must have somehow sat on him during their little tumble.

"Ah, Tora!" he said out loud as he picked up the feline by the paws, making sure not to be hit with those dangerous looking claws. Turning to the woman, he could see that she was slightly panting. On closer inspecting he could see that it was the Fire Daimyo's wife, Madam Shijimi.

Standing up he extended Tora to her, "Here you go mam, this your cat right?"

The plump woman cried in joy as she snatched the struggling cat into her bosom, "A Tora-chan, don't run away from mommy. Thank you, young man."

Kenji smiled at her, "It's fine." He turned back to pick up the stapler and flyer when she talked again.

"What is it that's in your hand …" she said trailing off.

"Ah, it's Kenji Yamamoto mam. This is a poster for a shop I'm opening," he said as he handed her the piece of paper for her to see.

She inspected it briefly before her eyes stopped at the mention of diet pills and she had to ask, "Do these diet pills actually work?"

"Huh, those? Yes they do, I can personally guarantee that you will get result within only minutes after eating one?" Kenji said as he puffed out his chest in complete confidence.

"Truly?" she said skeptically as she inspected his own plump form.

Kenji took the hint, taking a practice kunai from the depth of his clothes he showed it to her, "I'm training to be a shinobi you see, and this fat is needed for my techniques." That was a lie of course, Kenji had no techniques yet, but she didn't know that.

"Oh, of course. How rude of me, I didn't mean anything by it," she sounded slightly embarrassed at having assumed before she remember that she had yet to introduce herself. "A silly me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Madam Shijimi."

"It's a pleasure to meet the Fire Daimyo's wife in person, we learn about you in my class," he said as he extended his hand to get the flyer back.

The fat woman nodded good naturedly and shook his hand, mistaking his intention, with a smile after putting the flyer inside her kimono. "It is good meeting you as well Yamamoto-kun. I will be sure to drop by tomorrow to see these pills myself."

With that she left the building with a struggling Tora. Kenji might have imagined it, but for a second he saw Tora glare at him and slice a paw against his throat in a menacing manner.

Once he was alone again he turned back to the bulletin board and gave a small whine, "My poster."

(Scene change)

The next day at the crack of dawn he was standing in the training ground inspecting his surroundings on last time. It was a rather large clearing with an open field surrounded by trees, and a medium sized lake on the side that was perfect for taking a dip. This training ground was located on just on the outskirts of the village limit but was still relatively close enough to the village walls that were only a fifteen-minute jog away.

The reason for getting a training ground outside of the village walls had to do with the fact that it didn't require a permit to sell his goods. Going to his backpack he opened the top and glanced all the way at the bottom 15ft below. Carefully he fell inside of his bag, making sure to leave the top of it open so as not to get trapped inside.

Taking out a flashlight from his pocket he searched until he found his tent. Looking at the entrance he pushed chakra into his legs to help propel him to the surface, which he just barely made. To an outsider's point of view it might have seemed ridiculous for someone his size to fit into a backpack that was barely 3 feet tall.

It only took a few moments for him to set up his tent. It was a medium sized purple canopy tent in the shape of a circus tent, a white flag with his picture on top. There was a red carpet that led inside of the tent and two bonfire lanterns outside of the flap that acted like the door.

Taking an regular kunai from his clothes he stabbed the side of the tent and watched as the kunai bounced off. He nodded in satisfaction.

 **Canopy Tent +10**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Defense: 30**

 **\+ 300**

 **10+: The inside of the tent is expanded to 4X it normal size.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 130**

"It won't stop a sword or anything but it'll do for now," he said before applying some protective talismans to the outside.

Slowly he started to fill the much larger tent with all manner of items from his bag. He didn't have much money to spend on brand new items so most of the things he would be selling were gotten from dumpster diving in the major clans' trash and repairing some of their broken equipment.

Thankfully he had the foresight to make some aisles before coming there and stocked it full of items. Upgraded weapons and armor on one side of the tent and food supplies and useful items on the other. The very back had a section that was closed off from the customers, it had large wooden counter where he kept the more expensive items and money and behind that was a smaller room that lead into his inventory space. Jewelry and the like were also behind the counter but there was a catalog with pictures of them with a small description of what they did.

It was still early so he still had plenty of time to train for a bit. Walking to the lake outside, he placed one foot on the water's surface and channeled chakra under his foot. Placing his full weight on it, his foot refused to sink. He took another step onto the water and then another until he was right in the middle of the lake.

As it turned out, spending all his time upgrading items and meditating had given Kenji a great deal of chakra control. It also helped that he was still new to having chakra and therefore was hyperaware of it traveling through his body. The upgrade ability also came with one more benefit in that it was able to quantify the amount of chakra he had into numerical levels. Learning tree and water walking had been a breeze since all he had to do was check how much chakra he was using, and either lower or raise it.

Going through a couple of hand signs he used the clone jutsu to make three identical illusionary clones of himself.

Kenji inspected every single one of them to see if they had any obvious faults but couldn't find any. Satisfied with his work he mentally made them move using his connection with the chakra that was making up their bodies, it felt almost like mist. He made them do some basic motions like jumping and running on the surface of the water before going on to more difficult tasks like fighting each. Each kata they did flowed smoothly, the only problem was that they made no sound and caused no ripples on the water's surface.

Still, Kenji was pleased and called them over to his side. "Nice, I think I have this jutsu mastered already. Now, all I need to do is see if I can use it effectively."

He started with the first clone, sticking a hand all the way through its body. The small ninja in training had tested the jutsu a number of times already, and what he had found was that the clones acted exactly like holograms that could be mentally controlled by the user. Another neat thing he found was that they wouldn't disappear even after something came in contact with them and could even overlap the same space.

Concentrating on what he wanted to do, he made the clone walk into him and stand in the same position he was in, until it looked like they were one person. Now Kenji and his clone shared the same space, moving a hand in front of his eyes, he saw a second hand lag just seconds behind the first before merging back together. Frowning slightly, he waved his hand much slower to make sure he timed the movements of the clone with his own, once he was satisfied that they moved as one, he sped up the movement, before going throw the same katas he had made them do just moments ago.

"Okay, no let's try to mix things up a bit," he said as he threw a punch to the mid-section of an imaginary opponent while another fist from the same arm was aimed at their face. He launched a kick that was quickly followed by another one that was just inches apart. The point of this fight style was to confuse the enemy by making multiple clones launch their own attacks at the moment he did his, and while he knew he could never defeat a veteran shinobi, it would hopefully surprise them the first time and give him a chance to escape.

His goal was to use five overlapping clones with himself, but so far he could only handle three at once. Funny enough, the inspiration for this new fighting style was actually from those twins that Orochimaru had sent to retrieve Sasuke.

"I think that enough practice for right now," he said as he dismissed the clones and walked back to land.

Once his feet were firmly on the ground again, he went throw the hand signs for the transformation technique. His chakra was expelled from his body momentarily before it clung to his body like a layer of oil. In a puff of smoke, he had transformed into the Third Hokage. From the research he had done on the jutsu, it seemed that the more yang chakra that was added into the mixture, the more physical the transformation became. For example, if someone say pushed a large amount of chakra into it (or they held just the yang half of a tailed beast), then they could even physically transform themselves into object that were either larger or smaller than themselves.

Going through the hand seal again he added much more chakra, at least 4x as much as the previous amount. Once again, he disappeared in a puff of smoke, and as it dispersed what was left was a much skinnier and taller version of himself.

He touched his now flat stomach and sighed, " I don't get what people find so good about being thin, I'm actually rather happy with being round."

Dismissing the transformation, he headed back into his tent where he could whip off the sweat he had accumulated.

Once he was done, he waited behind the counter in preparation for his first customers.

So he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

It was already noon, and no one had come by yet, but Kenji still held on to hope. Glancing at the clock he decided it was time for a lunch break and took out his previously prepared snack. Today's new culinary experiment was a pack of pork sausages topped with mustard, ketchup, strawberry jam, and wasabi in between to waffles. The small academy student had begun to experiment with the different types of food he ate as a hobby, apparently something was wrong with his taste buds since anything he ate would taste delicious to him, even if others thought it was repulsive.

Finishing the last of his meal, he decided that if he was going to waste his time anyways, he might as well do it by creating more products. Searching in his pack, he took out something he liked to call a pill furnace and a bag of herbs. The furnace was half his size and looked like a metal lantern used to light incense but with a door to feed it the ingredient. The benefit of making pills, besides making a costly product out of a few simple plants, was that it helped him immensely with chakra control.

Getting another bag out, he took a pinch of dust from the inside and put it into the furnace. Going through another set of handseals he performed a basic fire starting jutsu taught to all academy students during their camping lessons. The dust was quick to catch on fire before it turned blue, the reason being the special dust he had used.

As it turns out, all of the initial dust he was left over after his many failed attempts at upgrading items did have some use. The dust was actually supercharged with chakra and could even feed certain jutsu like the one he had just cast, so that he didn't have to constantly maintain it. Of course, finding the right ratio without having it blow up in his face had proved to be a challenging and tiring process, since the slightest instability would make it go off like gunpowder.

Next came the plants. He took some pink flowers that had eight petals in the shape of lips, also called the Lady's Kiss, and a couple of orange small flowers that was commonly known as the Field Lily into the blazing fire. Closing the hatch of the furnace he waited patiently, paying careful focus on the color of the smoke rising from the top. Using his improved chakra control he created a dome over the top of the furnace to stop the smoke from escaping.

It took approximately five minutes before the black smoke began to turn white. Swiftly he opened the door and used his chakra on the ash pile that was left over, floating it outside without touching it. This process was actually a variation of the leaf floating exercise he had needed to develop just for that moment.

With one hand he molded the ash into a ball and added it to the smoke contained in his chakra dome. Steady he placed both hands on either side of the dome and created a chakra shell to contain it, then began to knead it like dough. He would constantly change the shape of the ash pile to look like certain objects or kanji and with every fold the smoke would get added back into the mixture until he had a floating ash ball.

Finally, the final process was to condense it. With that in mind he focused on the very center of the chakra shell and began to spin the contents around it like a whirlpool, all the while slowly shrinking the shell until the growing pressure began to compress it into a solid sphere. Once he was finished, he was left with a white marble sized pill with a smooth glass like surface.

Gently he collapsed the chakra shell still holding in the air and let it drop into his hand. As soon as he touched it he was bombarded with new information.

 **2 Pound Diet Pill**

 **Quality: Low Human**

 **\+ Anyone who eats this pill will lose 2 pounds of unnecessary fat in the next five minutes. (Can only eat one every eight hours)**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: N/A**

"Another one done," Kenji grinned as he placed the newly created pill into a special marked box. "Couldn't have done it without you," he spoke as he patted the furnace affectionately.

 **Pill furnace +14**

 **Quality: Mid Human**

 **Defense: 240**

 **\+ 788**

 **10+: Can make mystical pills from a wide variety of herbs and other ingredients.**

 **12+: Gathers the left-over nature chakra in plants to enhance the effects of the ingredients.**

 **14+: Enhance the effects of pills made by 2x their original amount.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 230**

Without this special made furnace all he would end up with would be a pretty dirt ball that did absolutely nothing. As things stand, the furnace was currently his highest quality item as well as his most costly investment. Just to get to this point he had needed to sacrifice another 15 furnaces and hundreds of dollars' worth of ingredients, and there were time where he wanted to give up, but the personality of Kenji A in him was determined to make this fantasy item at all costs. He hopped it would be worthy it because with the cost of the tools and ingredients he had used during the experimentation process, he had wasted the remains of his savings and had to live off the ration bars for the past couple of days.

All the failed attempt had at least showed him a little more about his upgrade abilities, mainly how many attack or defense points were needed for the item to raise in quality.

 **Quality Total Def/Atk**

 **Poor 0-25**

 **Ordinary 25-500**

 **Low man 500-1,000**

 **Mid man 1,000-1,500**

There were also a bunch of little facts that determine the limits of how much it could be upgraded such as initial quality, material, personal attachment, etc. Another new discover he had made was that while he couldn't upgrade food or anything that could be consumed, he could see the effects of things like his handmade pills.

 **Chakra: Academy Student**

 **Chakra Points: 347/420**

Checking his chakra points he noticed that he had yet to recover from the earlier mornings training. Usually he would waste all of his chakra and take a 3-hour nap, the bare minimum needed to recover all of his lost chakra and go back to practicing his chakra control or upgrading items. He took notice that despite almost quadrupling his original points during the past month, he was still labeled as an academy student by the system. "I wonder how many points I need to reach genin level reserves? How long does it usually take people?"

Despite his musings, he heard the sound of bells chiming as the front curtain was moved aside. "Oh boy, my first customer," he said in an excited whisper as he looked to see the image of Madam Shijimi followed by a large man in ninja clothing wearing a white bandana with the kanji for fire tied to his waist.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading. Now some things to explain, mainly having to do with pills, elixirs, seals, and talismans.**

 **Cultivation pills and the like are a familiar trope in many wuxia fantasy novels along with alchemy potions. The Naruto universe also has similar things what with chakra pills and the Akimichi's Three Coloured Pills. Also they used different elixirs throughout the series to boost their abilities like the Hero's water.**

 **Now that we established that they use similar items, I will explain the differences of each one.**

 **Pills** **are made by burning a variety of plants and animal parts inside of a specially made chakra furnace (very important) and capturing the left over nature chakra inside of the plants to give them special mystical properties. Anyone can make them as long as they have a pill furnace created by Kenji. The pills provide short term benefits that will usually only last a couple hours at the most.**

 **Elixirs** **on the other hand are basically potions made by putting certain ingredients inside of a special upgraded cauldron and mixing it into a special made chakra enhancing water to give it certain properties (again nature chakra). The effects however are far more permanent, lasting months if not forever.**

 **Now then then the difference between talismans and seals, because while they might seem to do the same thing, they are fundamentally different things.**

 **Seals** **deal with a written system of symbol to manipulate the world using chakra and a formula similar to a mathematical equation. Seal makers basically change the laws of physics with every time they make a seal. That being said, anyone can learn fuinjutsu as long as they but in the time and understand what symbols change which laws of physics.**

 **Talisman on the other hand are different in the way that they work similar to a prayer. While seals are can make concrete concepts real (example: heating water, sealing chakra, pocket dimensions in scrolls) they cannot work with abstract ideas like increasing luck, protecting against evil intent, or feelings. Talismans can make things like concepts, emotions, intentions and the like happen. Also, not everyone can make talismans, since while anyone can draw a talisman, the power behind is provided by a deity that has listened to the request to bless the talisman and charged it.**

 **So again, seals are like physic formulas and talismans are like prayers.**

 **Now that that is over with, I would just like to say that I have read some of the suggestions that you guys have written in the comments section and I will definitely try to add them into the story.**

 **Some of them defiantly have some major potential, especial in this universe.**

 **Also tell me what you think with my attempt to expand the Naruto universe a little, because I truly doubt that only 9 students get to graduate out of every year. Other wise there wouldn't be enough Ninja no matter how you think about it.**

 **Also I would like to now what some of you would pay for a magical pill that was guaranteed to take away 2 pounds of fat in minutes.**


	4. First Customer: Daimyo's Wife

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references made in this fanfic.**

 **Now then, an author's note because some of you asked some really good questions that I felt deserved an answer.**

 **Some of you wrote in the comment section that Kenji was being too open with his abilities, and that in a world like Naruto where there are practically no secrets that can't be uncovered, it is a dangerous route. First of all, I would like to say that I totally AGREE. The best kept secrets are those that have never been spoken out loud, even to yourself.**

 **That being said, I have reasons for making it the way it is. For starters, his ability we can all agree is pretty powerful with the right training and materials, but like someone said, despite how well someone will try to hide their abilities in the end it will all be found out. Right now, Kenji is an average Academy student, not really able to protect himself against the likes of other enemy shinobi or even Danzo's Root ninjas.**

 **In the Naruto universe, there are two ways to survive, be strong enough to protect yourself or find someone else who is willing to protect you. If Kenji had been from a clan, it would give him some amount of protections (not much because of Danzo) but enough for him to grow in strength relatively peacefully. Now that he has caught the eye of the Fire Daimyo's Wife he will do anything possible to get into her good graces, and hopefully those of the nobles in the Fire Capital through his products.**

 **And while I do agree that making yourself too famous is generally a bad idea since many other villages will try to either kill you or kidnap you, it does offer some protection from those inside of the village. If everyone is looking at you to see what other things you can do, then it will make it much harder for certain individuals to simply make you disappear without it becoming a village wide problem.**

 **Shinobi are opportunist and if they see someone that can not only strengthen the village as a whole but individuals as well, then they will do everything in their power to protect them. The reason why Sasuke was never considered a missing-nin right after leaving the village was because they still hoped to use him, it wouldn't matter what Naruto's feelings on the matter were, because if the village truly believed that there was no longer any hope of taking back the sharingan, then they would do everything in their power to eliminate him so that he couldn't be used by their enemies. The fear of Itachi wouldn't matter at that point.**

 **So yes, I agree that normally exposing your abilities would be foolish, but since they are eventually going to get out, it would be fore the best to gain as much positive public opinion before starting your career where one might mysteriously disappear on a mission. Also since the Hokage would see him as a capable asset, he would be much more reluctant on sending him on long or dangerous missions outside of the village.**

 **I'm sorry if this was a little long, but it was a really good question.**

 **Quick reminder: 10 ryo is 1 dollar**

 **Now on to the chapter.**

 **Chapter 4**

"Welcome!" Kenji proclaimed as he hid the pill furnace and walked around the counter to meet them. "Madam Shijimi, you're looking as radiant as ever. I take it you are here for the diet pills that I promised," Kenji finished with a bow as he had switched over to merchant mode.

Madam Shijimi laughed behind her hand, taking the complement, "My aren't you the little Casanova Yamamoto-kun. Yes, I came today to see if they truly worked, do you have them with you now."

Kenji nodded as he lead them to the counter, "I do indeed Madam, they're right this way. So who is your bodyguard, I didn't see him yesterday." 'I think I would remember if I saw someone like that before.'

The man was large, easily over seven ft tall with a very muscular build. His face was rough and there was a scar that ran diagonally around one eye that was completely white, showing that he could no longer see from that direction. He had short red hair and a full beard, his scowl made it seem that he had been dragged along. Kenji took notice of the large metal club that was strapped to his back.

"Oh, you mean Yu-kun, I'm on my way back to the Capital but I decided to make a stop here since it was on the way," she said as she motioned for the large man that was inspecting some of his wears.

"How exciting, to be able to travel the land with such well trained bodyguards. Here they are," the excited boy said as he took out a well decorated wooden box and placed it on the counter.

Yu joined Madam Shijimi at her side since he too was curious on these so called magic pills. When he saw the boy, he had mistaken him for an Akamichi clansman, but the lack of symbol showed him that he was just a fat kid.

Kenji opened the lid of the box and took out a white pearl like pill, holding it between his fingers so that they could see it better, "This here is my diet pill. Take one of these and you will lose any unwanted fat in only moments. Seeing as you are my first official customer Madam Shijimi, how would you like a free sample."

"I don't think that's a good id-" Yu started to protest before being cut off by a friendly shove from the jolly woman.

"Ah, Yu-kun lighten up. I'm sure that it is perfectly safe. Yamamoto-kun doesn't look like the kind of person to deceive other, besides you are here if anything were to happen. Hahaha," she said as she turned back to Kenji, "Now then young man I would be delighted to see this pill first hand."

The plump boy had obviously heard the barely concealed threat if anything were to happen to the Daimyo's wife, as he swallowed nervously, "Of course mam. Now there are a few things I would like to go over before I let you try it. Nothing dangerous, just a few simple rules to get the best results."

Seeing that he had their attention he explained to them the details. "First thing you should understand is that this pill is capable of expelling 2 pounds of fat. You heard right, I said 2. After swallowing it you will be hit with a sudden rush of energy, that is okay, it just means that it is working. Once you feel the rush, just focus on the area that you would like to thin and let the pill do the rest of the work. Easy enough right?"

"Very much so," the noble woman answered as even Yu was paying more attention.

Kenji nodded, "Now some words of warning. I should start off by saying that these pills should general be taken when you are alone, or preferably when you bathe, since the overall process will be quite messy."

She tilted her said to the side, "How so?"

"Well the way that the pills work is that a portion of the fat will be expelled from the body through the pores while the rest will be converted into energy. If you are wearing clothes at the time, then I can assure that the stains will never come out and it would be better to just throw them out," he said as that was what he had to do when he had tested them.

"Ah, I see. Unfortunately, I don't seem have a bath with me," she said mildly disappointed that she couldn't try them out sooner.

Walking behind the counter he gripped the fabric of the wall and pulled it apart to reveal a hidden room with a small bed, a bathtub and full-length mirror, "Not to worry my lady, you can use my room."

Clapping excitedly, she spoke in a giddy voice that should only be reserved for schoolgirls, "Oh, how marvelous, it seems I will get to test them out after all. Let me just call my retainers." With that, she rushed out of the tent leaving only Kenji and Yu inside to stare after her.

They looked at each other awkwardly, not knowing how to deal with the other.

Unable to take the silence Kenji spoke first, "Sooo, you're one of the Twelve Guardians? I bet that's fun?"

Yu didn't say anything, and so Kenji was left in a rather uncomfortable position.

The small boy was extremely glad when Madam Shijimi came back followed with 3 beautiful younger women carrying different clothes and personal items.

"This way please," he said as he motioned them inside where one of them began to fill the tub with a water jutsu and then warming it up with a mild fire jutsu. "Here you go my lady," he said handing her the pill.

Once again Kenji was left alone with the intimidating figure of Yu. "So would you like to see some of my other products, Yu-san."

He grunted before speaking, "I might as well, since it looks like she will take a while."

Kenji smiled, hoping to make another sale. "Right this way then. Anything you are looking for in particular."

"No," was his dull reply.

"That's fine, it just means I can show off a bit more," walking towards the back of the counter, he took out a pouch filled with kunai, "How about a new set of kunai. It's only 1,400 ryo for a set of 20."

Yu shook his head and took out a kunai from somewhere on his body, "I already have a set."

Kenji nodded seeing the small knife, "True, you have a set already, but nothing like mine. Perhaps a demonstration." The boy then took out a kunai that was almost identical to the one that Yu was holding with the sole difference being the red tape around the handle. "Strike them against each other," he suggested as he handed it over to the large man that looked at him doubtfully.

 **Kunai +4**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Attack: 160**

 **+320**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 59**

Seeing that there was no harm in it, Yu took the offered kunai. Gripping both knifes he crashed them together, expecting the usual sparks to appear when two kunai meet, so it came as quite a shock when the other kunai sliced his in half. He was left open mouthed as he inspected the cut more closely and saw that it was smooth. "It's a clean cut."

"As you can see, my kunai are vastly superior to others. Should you ever face yourself clashing kunai with another shinobi, you can expect to gain the upper hand as you slice his kunai and him in half. Now then, would you like a set," Kenji said with a smile and fox like eyes, letting a little of his greed shine through.

"Not bad kid. I'll take two sets," Yu answered as he stared at the red-handled kunai in his hands.

"Excellent choice sir," he said rubbing his hands together, happy at his first sale, "let me just ring you up."

Turning around he started to take out to pouches of kunai from his inventory pack, but just as he placed then on the counter an earsplitting scream resounded through the tent.

"Kyaaaa!"

Kenji didn't even have time to register it as he was suddenly yanked by the collar of his kimono and the flap to his bedroom was practically ripped open. Every instinct in his body told him to curl up in a ball and close his eyes or else he would regret it for the rest of his life.

He didn't see what happened next, but he heard the voice of a young woman, "Kya! Yu get out!" before the sound of hand meeting face could be heard and he was once again pulled into a different direction.

Opening his eyes he looked at the sprawled form of Yu on the ground with his large hand gripping his kimono. Rubbing his neck, he felt a bruise starting to form.

Yu let go of him and stood back up rubbing the large handprint that was branded on his face. "I don't think I will ever be to forget that for the rest of my life," he said with a shiver. Kenji felt a small amount of pity for whatever he had seen but that was quickly erased when he felt the stinging on his throat.

"Unfortunately, I don't have anything to fix mental trauma yet," the small boy said standing up as well before stopping and getting a tape recorder from the inside of his clothes and pressing a button to record, "Note to self: Make something to suppress or erase traumatic memories."

"You okay kid? I'm sorry for that. Instinct you understand," Yu said sounding apologetic for jumping to conclusions.

Kenji waved him off, "It's fine, I understand your reasoning."

"Are you sure, that looks like it's starting to turn into a bruise," the large man said worryingly.

Taking out a mirror from behind the counter Kenji saw a purple mark where the kimono had choked him. "Don't worry, I have something to fix this up in a jiffy." Searching into his pack he took out his personal first-aid kit. Opening it up he took an upgraded band-aid and after taking off the plastic back, placed it directly on his neck.

Yu looked like he was going to comment before he saw the band-aid give off a green glow that was commonly seen in medical jutsu, and the bruise started to become lighter. "Hey kid, what that?"

"Oh this? This are my special band-aids, they take a portion of your chakra and convert it into medical chakra over the afflicted area it is placed. Their light weight, waterproof, and small enough to be concealed anywhere on the body which makes it ideal for shinobi teams that don't have a medic in them. They also have the benefit of working in the middle of fights, something that a medical nin can't do," the fat academy explained, switching to merchant mode at the end.

The bodyguard gave a low whistle, "Damn, that sure is covenant. How much are you selling them for?"

"Individually they cost 500 Ryo each, but if you get a full box of twelve they only cost 5,000 Ryo. They can treat most injuries as long as it isn't anything life-threatening," smiled Kenji as he smelled another sale coming.

"500 Ryo for a single band-aid, damn kid you're pretty bloodthirsty. But I can understand your reasoning, being able to heal yourself in mid-battle without a medical-nin would be invaluable. I'll take a box," the man said with a smile that was actually pretty intimidating, while taking out his wallet.

"You got it! Lets see, including the two kunai packs, you're total will be 7,800 ryo," Kenji said as he typed on an old cash-register he had gotten half-off at a flea market.

Yu gave him the money, and Kenji wrote him a receipt. 'Nice, if I can make more sales like this, I will be able to gather enough money to buy more products.'

Taking his newly purchased equipment Yu began to wonder around the room looking at more of the items that were for sale. Kenji was happy to let him so long as he didn't touch anything too dangerous.

"Hey kid, what's with the weird markings that some of these weapons have," the large man said as he looked at a display case where there was a row of differently decorated kunai and shuriken. The price tags alone made him suck his teeth. A single Kunai was marked at 30,000 ryo and a single shuriken was 4,000.

Walking behind the case Kenji tapped the glass, "These are a little different from the other weapons here. Notice the symbol of the red man on the side of each weapon."

"Yeah," he said leaning in close.

"That marks them a Human grade chakra artifact. Low tier to be exact. Each one of these is embedded with a different ability that is capable of tipping the scales in any battle," Kenji explained.

"So what can they do?" he asked, as despite himself he was finding himself curious about these rather ordinary looking kunai.

"I will be happy to demonstrate some of their abilities outside once Madam Shijimi is finished with her bath. In the meantime, would you like to see some a catalog of the weapons that are currently available," Kenji finished taking out a self-made catalogue from out of nowhere and presenting it to the man.

"Sheesh kid, you won't give up until you take everything from me will you," Yu said as he started to flip through the pages that contained pictures of the weapons and the asking price. As he expected, the price was outrageously high.

"That's the plan, but I assure you that everything I sell is reasonably priced," countered the small boy as he continued to rub his hands in a greedy manner.

It wasn't until an hour later that the Daimyo's wife finally exited the room, Yu and Kenji were playing cards, and the young business man was quickly learning that it wasn't wise to play with a shinobi since they were known to cheat.

"Yu-kun! Ken-chan! Notice anything different about me," she said striking several different poses that Kenji figured were supposed to be seductive, but all it did was confuse him and give Yu shivers.

'Ken-chan?' "You look radiant my lady. I take it you are pleased with the results of the pill," despite the new nickname that he was given, he answered her with a bow.

"Oh, yes! I feel light as a feather, hohoho" the large woman proclaimed as she did a small pirouette while laughing. Both men looked doubtfully at each other before turning back to the woman and giving her broken smiles.

"Yes, I can tell by your chipper attitude. So, would you like to purchase some, 2, 5, maybe 10?" the greedy child asked hopefully.

"All of them," was the abrupt reply.

The smile on Kenji's face dropped, "What? I think I might have heard you wrong. Did you say that you wanted all of them."

She nodded as she smiled to herself, "Yes, I want all of the pills that you currently have Ken-chan, that shouldn't be a problem will it."

Kenji looked nervous as he tried to explain to her the problem, "Hmm, I hate to say this my lady, but the pills takes a few precious ingredients to make and a rather difficult crafting process which raises its cost quite significantly. One pill alone will cost you 400 ryo."

"Hohoho, is that all. You don't have to worry Ken-chan, I already figured that such miraculous pills would be worth a fortune. How many do you have at the moment?" she said as she motioned for one of her handmaidens to fetch something from her carriage.

Going towards the box, Kenji made a quick count, "I have 448 pills at the moment."

"Splendid! I'll take them," she exclaimed as the servant from earlier returned with a chest full of money. Kenji's eyes glazed over as he saw all of those stacks of ryo neatly piled on top. With speed that betrayed his rather large girth, he wrote a receipt for her.

"The total comes to 179,200."

The handmaid took out 180,000 from the chest and placed it on the counter. "Here you go Ken-chan, keep the change."

The boy could only nod as he handed her the wooden box containing the pills. After some time ogling the money he remembered something, "Madam Shijimi, a word of advice. The pills should only be taken every eight hours and I suggest drinking a lot of water to help in the expelling of fat."

"I will be sure to do as you say Ken-chan. Now is there anything else you might have for me," she said as she looked around the tent for the first time.

"Indeed I do Madam, I was just going to show Yu-san some of my more higher grade items, and would be happy to let you watch. I also have a catalogue oriented to my more female clientele that you will be interested in," he said as he handed her a photobook containing different pills, creams, and jewelry.

"You are very well prepared. I am curious too in what other items you sell," she finished as she excited the tent while flipping through the pages and reading the small description each had, her small group just a step behind.

Kenji followed after the them after grapping some of his low-human kunai.

Walking out of the tent, Kenji saw that the woman was already sitting at a table with a parasol in the middle while drinking tea. There was a large carriage a distance away tied to some horses, that was surrounded by other bodyguards that were curiously looking over in their direction.

'Come on Kenji it is your time to shine,' he shouted mentally before slapping a good luck talisman on his forearm and going to meet with Yu a few feet away. "Now then, you said you wanted to know what a low-human level chakra artifact could do right Yu? Then I will demonstrate."

Taking out one kunai from the three he had brought out, he handed it to Yu, who was careful to hold it by the handle.

 **Kunai +10**

 **Quality: Low-Human**

 **Attack: 160**

 **\+ 800 Attack**

 **10+: Triples throwing speed when thrown at a target.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 300**

"Now this kunai is twice as powerful as the ones that you bought from me a few minutes ago. But it also has a hidden ability. Why don't you take one of those regular kunai and throw it at that tree over there before trying to do the same with this one," Kenji suggested s he pointed to a tree that was 100 ft away.

The red-head took out a kunai from his newly purchased pouch before taking a stance facing the tree. With the flick of his wrist he sent the small knife flying at the tree truck where it imbedded itself all the way to the hilt.

One of the bodyguards gave a low whistle as they had moved closer to see what was happening, even Yu was shocked by its sharpness.

Gripping the handle of the supposed chakra artifact he tried to throw it like the previous one, but it was just as his fingers stopped touching it that he felt a small fraction of his chakra leave his body and go into the kunai, then it moved throw the air three times faster than his previous throw.

To those with untrained eyes like Kenji and Madam Shijimi it just looked like it had simple disappeared into thin air as soon as it left his hand, only for a hole to appear through the trunk of the tree and those behind it.

"Crap! It better not be lost," Kenji cursed as he ran in the direction of where it had gone, closely followed by Yu and some of the bodyguards. It was relatively easy to locate, all they had to do was follow the row of trees that had holes in them until they came towards a stone boulder where just the ring of the kunai sticking out.

"Damn, seven trees and it still went through solid rock," on of the guards said as they closed in around the kunai. Kenji stepped forward channeling some chakra through his arms and unhooked the weapon in question, showing it to the other for them to see that it didn't even have a scratch.

Walking back to the clearing Yu turned to the young merchant, "Right after it left my hand, I felt a stream of my chakra get sucked into the kunai."

The boy nodded, "Yes, that is how you know that it's special ability will activate. Some of the items have a percentage base chance of their ability activating, while others will always activate when the condition is met. This particular artifact triples the speed that it is thrown at, making dodging a very difficult thing if your opponent has already determined how fast you can throw. As I mentioned before, my artifacts are capable of switching the tides of battle in an instant."

Yu and the rest of the guards nodded at that, since even the slightest variable in a fight could determine life and death.

Once they were back with the others Kenji took out another Kunai and showed it to the group of men that still hadn't left. "Now this kunai has a different ability. This has a 1 in 5 chance of absorbing 40 % of the chakra in any ninjutsu attack and storing it until your next attack.

 **Kunai +10**

 **Quality: Low Human**

 **Attack: 160**

 **+800 Attack**

 **10+: 20% chance of it absorbing 40 % of the chakra in ninjutsu and adding it to the next attack. (Amount absorbed cannot exceed the total Attack points.)**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 300**

"If one of you could fire a quick jutsu at the blade, that would be great," he asked as he held the kunai as far away from his body as he could. One of the bodyguards volunteered as he started to weave handsigns for a fire jutsu only for a panicking Kenji to stop him, "Wait! On second thought why don't you hold it Yu seeing as you were the one interested in their abilities." He then hurriedly handed the kunai to the large man, who held it in front of him.

His teammate spat out a small fireball once he was given the signal and just as it looked like it would hit him, Yu slashed at the flaming ball cutting it in half. He felt the pull of his chakra once more as it flew past him and exploded since it had grown unstable with the sudden lose of chakra.

The kunai had now gained a faint red aura around it.

"When it gains a faint hint of red, it means that it worked. Now simply slash or stab at something to release that pent-up chakra."

Yu shushuned in front of a tree and lightly stabbed it into the bark, barely even an inch, then the entire trunk simply exploded backwards, and the large tree fell over.

Kenji was left open-mothed before looking at the guard that had thrown the fireball, "J-j-just how m-much chakra was in that jutsu?"

The man scratched his chin as he thought, "Usually I make it four times bigger, this time I condensed it all into a smaller form, but it should still have had the same chakra amount."

'Ehhhh?! And you just threw that at your teammate that only had a kunai to protect himself! Scary!' Once again Kenji was reminded of the large ocean between himself and these trained soldiers.

Yu reappeared next to them and he handed the kunai to the slightly shaken boy, "Not bad, would be perfect against those specialized in ninjutsu."

"Huh? Right the knife. Next up is this one that has a 1 in 20 chance of causing paralyzes for three seconds on a successful attack," the large boy said holding the last kunai.

 **Kunai +10**

 **Quality: Low-Human**

 **Attack: 160**

 **+800 Attack**

 **10+: 5% chance of causing the target to become paralyzed for 3 seconds after a successful attack.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 300**

"Hands," Kenji ordered as he motioned for them to show him their hands.

They looked reluctantly at each other before Yu sighed and offered his hand, which prompted the other four to do the same.

Kenji slashed at their palms lightly just enough to draw some blood. Out of the five that were cut, three of them stopped moving all together. To the men that were affected it was as if they had simply lost all control of their bodies and were simply frozen in time. They grew panicked at the lack of response form their body and tried to either force themselves to move with pure brute strength or by channeling chakra into their limbs, but everything proved futile.

Once the three seconds had passed they dropped to the floor on all fours partly shaken at the paralyzes. For a shinobi whose entire life depended on simply being faster than your opponent, three seconds of immobility without the chance to defend was partially a death sentence.

"As you can see, no amount of strength or chakra can break the hold it has on you if you are affected. It wouldn't matter if it's an academy student or a kage, once affected it is impossible to break free," he explained as the men got back up.

The only other guard that wasn't affected besides Yu stepped forward as he took out a fat wallet, "Okay, I'm sold how much for one of those kunai?"

Kenji smiled a fox like grin, "Yes, these marvelous weapons do tantalize great warriors like yourselves right. Well good news, you can own one of these chakra artifacts for the low price of 30,000 ryo! Now before you think the price is a little steep, remember that in our line of work where we face death every day, the slightest advantage could mean the difference between returning home to our families or becoming another corpse on forest floor. With that being said, can you really say that it wouldn't be a wise investment; after all, the longer you live the more you will get out of your purchase, and can you really say that you value your life any lower than a few measly thousand ryo."

Those that looked reluctant at first to part with the money were now taking it out of their wallet in a hurry and shoving it in his face.

It took a few minutes but Kenji was able to outfight all of the Fire Daimyo's guards with their very own kunai. 8 guards, 3 handmaidens, and Yu made a total of 12 people, meaning that the total profit was 360,000 ryo. Kenji was more than happy to take their money.

While some of them started to test their new kunai like excited children, Kenji walked towards the Fire Daimyo's wife.

"Ah Madam Shijimi, did you find anything that interests you?" Kenji said as he took the seat that was provided for him in front of her, a maid that had bought a kunai was already placing a cup of tea in front of him.

"I am unsure Ken-chan, what do you recommend?" she said smiling at him.

His merchant senses were tingling at the question, "I think I might have something that might interest you. One moment please." He got up from his seat and calmly walked towards his tent again, and once he was out of sight ran towards his pack where he began to rummage for the jewelry boxes. "Come one, I know I put them at the top! Ah-ha! Here it is!"

Back at the table he placed a large rectangular black jewelry box that opened up to reveal a large selection of rings, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings, some being plain while others being more high quality. He had bought some second-hand jewelry at the local flew market since all of the cheap toy jewelry kept breaking before they could even reach level 10.

"Do you enjoy shopping my lady?" he asked as he took a silver ring with a blue gem on it.

 **Silver Ring +10**

 **Quality: Low Human**

 **Defense: 0**

 **\+ 30 Stamina**

 **10+: Can hold up to 3 cubic foot of matter inside. Objects inside weigh nothing and can be taken out instantly.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 240**

"I'll admit that is one of my favorite pastimes," she said as she gained a reminiscing expression.

"Good to hear that. Then you will be interested in this little bobble. This ring will not only increase your stamina but will also allow you to store 3 cubic feet of items inside without it weighing anything, and the best part is that no chakra is needed to activate unlike those pesky sealing scrolls. Why not give it a try?" he finished as he handed it to her, luckily the ring was big enough to fit on her finger.

Immediately the woman let out a surprised gasp as she felt energy begin to flow through her body just waiting to be unleashed. "This is lovely, I could get used to this feeling. Now how to I activate the storage ability."

The ten-year old took out a wooden carving of a rabbit from the depths of his clothes and placed it in front of her, "It's simple my lady, just take any object you wish to store with the same hand that has the ring and imagine it going into a small invisible box, the ring will do the rest of the work."

She took the carving in one of her meaty hands and closed her eyes in concentration, picturing it going into a box before it simply disappeared from her hand as if had never existed. She looked at her hand curiously before gaining a smile of excitement as she looked at the boy that was asking for a second cup of tea.

"Now to take something out simply focus on the ring, and you should see a small room with everything contained inside. Simple think about the object you want to bring out as if you were grapping it and it should appear in your hand again," he explained to her but was instead far more focused on the plate of cookies that one of the girls had brought out for him.

Madam Shijimi did as instructed and pictured taking the small rabbit statue out of the blank room, and then it suddenly appeared in her hand. "Amazing! Ken-chan how is it able to do that? I have never heard of something like this working for people that weren't shinobi before?"

Kenji looked up from stuffing his face, small crumbs on the side of his face, "You mean how all of my things have special abilities? It's magic. As in the sense that I don't know how it works but believe it can fix anything. From what I know, it is an ability that I solely can do."

"Well whatever it is, I'll take it. What other things do you have," she said like an excited puppy, a pug to be sure.

Swallowing the rest of the snacks Kenji took out a plain looking ring that looked like it was made of stainless steel.

 **Chastity Ring +3**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Defense: 0**

 **+Protects the wear from any attempts of sexual activity until taken off. Offenders will be given a large electrical shock. (Ring will be hidden until taken off. Only a wearer whose mind is not being influenced can take it off.)**

 **\+ 10 Endurance**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 7**

This was an item that he himself had created using a rather new method using talismans. What he had done was make a talisman that would protect someone from being raped and then transfer that blessing onto a ring so that it could become permanent. It had taken many wasted materials, and a lot of pain but he had created them to protect women in general, and maybe some men.

Looking around the table for the first time he noticed how some of the guards had gathered around to see what other things he had. Glancing at Yu he hid a mischievous grin remembering the bruise on his neck. "For my next item I will need two volunteers. Yu-san can you come here for a second and you as well pretty lady."

One of the girls walked over to him and the bearded man also stepped forward. "Please but this on my lady," he said handing her the metal ring, which she did a second later. "Good, now Yu-san. I would like for you to try and touch her in an unappropriated manner." As soon as he said that, he was given weird looks by those assembled but he paid it no mind since he too was curious about the effects of the ring, "Go on."

Still unsure Yu reluctantly extend a hand to grab the girl's posterior only after she consented, although her face had started to turn red. Unfortunately, before his hand could even touch her round bottom he was hit with a stream of lightning which launched him several feet away. He convulsed on the ground with arcs of electricity jumping from his body and he gave off the smell of singed hair. Everyone was shocked at what had happened, most especially the girl in question.

"This little beauty is what I like to call the ring of chastity, or the chastity ring. It prevents all forms of sexual activity as long as you wear it and cannot be taken off by anyone else but the wearer. It will also stop genjutsu specialists form simply tricking you into taking it off, as only an unaffected mind can take it off. Anyone foolish enough to try anything will be forcibly discourage like so. They can also disappear if you wish," he finished as he showed them his own hand and made them witness as his own ring appeared on his finger.

Madam Shijimi tilted her head in wonder, "Why does Ken-chan have a ring?"

"Ah there's a reason for that my lady, it actually has to do with why I chose to join the academy despite me being a pacifist."

"Really, I was actually wondering what made you want to be a ninja Ken-chan," the plump woman said as she leaned in close, extremely curious for the reason.

Kenji B as it turned out actually did have a reason for joining the academy other than no longer being in the orphanage, and it was all related to Danzo in a way.

"Well you see mam, I'm an orphan, I never knew my parents. I was raised by the caretakers for a majority of my life before I joined that academy, back then I used to have some friends in the orphanage, but then something happened," he explained taking a sip of his tea.

"One day, while out at the park with our caretaker, we saw a strange old man covered in bandages with a cane, and an x scar on his chin look at us from distance. Me and some of the other orphans would sometimes see him skulking around the orphanage, there were rumors that said he was there for someone. It was shortly after that when kids in my orphanage and even the surrounding orphanages started to go missing without a trace. We were all given a lecture to stay away from old men if we should ever meet them while out in the village. I eventually joined the academy to hopeful be able to protect myself if the time where he targets me ever comes, but thankfully I haven't seen him since," he finished his tale, with most of it being true. The part of kids disappearing from the orphanage was true enough, and Kenji B had seen Danzo before when he had gone there to look at them when he was young but never again, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to put the pieces together. And hopefully if he ever disappeared for an extended amount of time, they had a prime suspect to question, (hopefully rather forcefully too).

Madam Shijimi looked mortified at his rather dark reason for wanting to be a ninja. 'That sounds an awful lot like that councilman Danzo Shimura. I never did like him. I will make sure to tell the Hokage to keep a watchful eye on him from now on,' she resolved to herself, if there was someone like a high official that was responsible for kidnapping children in her country, then she would make sure to make them pay.

Those who had met the man or knew of his past organization Root, gave each other looks, all thinking the same thing, 'Yeah I believe that. Out of everyone, that Danzo Shimura is the most like to do something like that.'

It became sober after that, each person with their own thoughts on the matter. It was finally Kenji who broke the silent atmosphere, "400."

"Huh, what did you say Ken-chan?" the plump woman said kindly, not knowing what he was taking about.

"400 ryo. That is how much I am selling the chastity rings for. There relatively cheap to make and I want to make it affordable to anyone that wants that added protection," he explained.

"So cheap!" one of the women commented, shocked that such an invaluable item would only cost them 400. She half expected the tiny boy to try and ring them out for every last ryo they had.

"Yep, this isn't about the money, it about protecting the women in our great nation. It's something personal you could say, since you see my mother…" he stopped himself for second. "She too was a woman!" he suddenly declared as if it was some great kept secret, getting facepalms by some of the people around him thinking he was going to say something important.

"How chivalrous of you Ken-chan, hohoho," the madam finished with a kind smile. "Well I will certainly help out, and I am sure that my husband will be more than happy to contribute to your cause once I tell him about it."

"Thank you Madam Shijimi, it would be a great help," he said as he stood up from his seat and gave her a low bow.

"None of that Ken-chan. You can address me normally. Now how about you show me the rest of these items," she said pointing to the jewelry box.

(Time skip)

Kenji was happy as he waved their carriage away, Madame Shijimi had bought the space ring for 300,000 Ryo and 300 chastity rings. He had also given her a small bottle of anti-aging cream for her purchase of over 10,000 ryo and because she still had his poster. "Bye! Don't forget to recommend me to all your friends!"

The sun was already beginning to set as they disappeared into the forest, while he went back inside his tent to count the day's earnings.

Back in the carriage Madam Shijimi was playing with the space ring, taking objects in and out while talking to her servants.

"Kana, what are your thoughts about what Ken-chan said. Do you feel he was telling the truth about Danzo-san?"

The servant in question put on a thinking expression before answering, "I am unsure. It does sound like something he would be capable of doing. Back when I used to be a kunoichi in the Leaf, he always gave me the creeps. He was known to look at shinobi as simply tools that could be discarded once they were no longer useful and he did have his own personal anbu squad back during the war that if rumors prove true, were stripped of all emotions and made into cold killing machines."

"…I see. What do you think the chances are of him going after someone like Ken-chan?" she said as her usual cheerful eyes were replaced by cold calculating glacial orbs, reminding all that despite her jolly personality she was still a noble woman, and was therefore no stranger to treachery and backroom politics.

"I would say, that it is almost a sure thing if he were to find out about the little munchkin's ability to make such items," the young woman said gesturing towards the chastity ring on her finger.

"As I thought. Kana I need you to take a letter to the Hokage as fast as you can. I want Ken-chan to be protected as much as possible. I can feel that he is destined for great things, that one, it would be a shame to lose him so soon," she said as she finished writing a short letter and sealing it with her personal seal.

"As you command, my mistress," Kana said as she took the letter from the woman and disappeared in a shushun.

It was then that the Daimyo's wife took out a book from her ring and began to open it to the front page. One of the other handmaidens saw it and had to ask, "Madam Shijimi, what is that you are holding?"

Looking at the cover of the book that had the picture of a young woman dressed in colorful flowery robes holding a sword in one hand, the fat noble woman spoke, "Oh this, Ken-chan was kind enough to gift me this. He said that it is a novel he is working on getting published soon and that I could have a free copy. I'm curious to see what he wrote actually, if it came from his mind, then it must be good. Don't worry I'll let you read it after I'm done Aoi-chan, hohoho."

(scene change)

"Okay let's see with, including the 300,000 from the space ring and the 120,000 from the chastity rings the total amount of should be… 967,000 ryo. Now I just need to subtract the initial cost of the material used for the items and I should be able to find my actual profit," Kenji talked to himself as he started to write in his accounting book. Bookkeeping had been a necessary skill that Kenji A had needed to develop as he had been a simple college student back on Earth and would occasionally be given the task to do the family's share. "With this, I will finally be able to buy some real furniture for the store, and maybe so actual weapon displays."

Putting the money and the book in a secure area, the small boy stretched to work out all of the kinks in his back.

Just as he was getting ready for bed, he heard a noise come from the store front, "That's strange, I'm pretty sure that I closed the flap of the tent and activated those protection talismans."

Stepping into the store part of the tent he took a nearby sword and called out, "We're currently closed right now. If you wish to buy something, please come back tomorrow."

He heard something nock over a row of weapons and turned toward the noise but saw nothing. To the side of him he heard more scurrying and brandished his weapon more tightly. Then he heard something land on his counter and had to stop himself in mid-swing when he saw what it was.

There, on the top of his counter was a month-old bunny rabbit with the purest coat of snow white fur he had ever seen. It had a strange black pattern running on the side of it's fur that reminded Kenji strongly of fuinjutsu marks and right in the middle of its forehead was a black crescent moon birth mark. But what really took Kenji off guard was the set of red eyes that were currently glaring at him.

"Huh?"

* * *

 **A/N: Done! Thanks for reading.**

 **I hope I answered some of your questions this time. This chapter is actually a little longer than I originally intended but the scenes flowed so smoothly that I couldn't stop.**

 **As I said before, I have a plan.**

 **Kenji is trying to make his skills invaluable to both shinobi and civilians.**

 **Upgraded items like jewelry also don't use up any chakra, so even civilians can use it.**

 **What did you guys think of the diet pills. I figured that 40 dollars was a good amount seeing as it is a painless procedure that takes only a few minutes to complete and can be taken at any time.**

 **Madam Shijimi has already set her sights on him, and I am sure that she won't be the only one. After all there are plenty of rich civilians that would be willing to pay to get some of those chakra artifacts.**

 **I'll try to add more of your ideas for items as the story progresses.**


	5. Spirit Beast

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references mention in this fanfic**

 **Chapter 5**

Kenji leaned against the stone wall of a veterinary fast asleep all the while holding a cullender and a plate held tightly together with rope and talismans.

Part of his kimono was torn and there was a wide variety of bitemarks and scratches all over his skin. There were some bruises on his face and a patch of dried blood on his pants leg. Every once in a while, the make shift cage would rattle and Kenji would lightly stir before falling asleep again.

This was the scene that Hana Inuzuka and her three dogs saw as they went to open their animal hospital early in the morning.

(Flashback)

 _Kenji lowered his sword and let out a breath when he saw that it was just a bunny. "Oh thank kami, for a second there I thought I would have to fight someone."_

 _Placing the sword back on the rack where he found it, he smiled at the bunny that was small enough to fit in his hands. "Hey there little guy, I don't know how you got in here, but it's time for you to go," he said in a friendly voice as he extended his hand towards the small creature._

 _The rabbit followed his movements with its sharp eyes._

 _Kenji gave it a reassuring smile as he let it smell his hand, "There, that wasn't so hard. Come on little guy, I need to get ready for bed, and I'm sure your family is waiting for yo-Waa!"_

 _The small plump boy was taken completely out of guard as the rabbit used his extended hand as a spring board to jump at his face like a missile. He was just fast enough to move his head out of the way as it sailed past him. He felt something warm run down the side of his neck and when he went to touch it he saw what it was, 'Blood? What! That bunny was aiming for my jugular!'_

 _Terrified he glanced behind him and saw the rabbit looking at him again, the edges of its mouth had bloodstained fur. If he had been a fraction of second latter it would have gotten him completely._

 _He was regretting putting that sword away now._

 _Turning around to face the dangerous animal fully he watched it warily. This time he saw it as it used it's powerful legs to launch itself at him, this time for his Achilles tendon, it's teeth coated in a thin blue glow that could only be chakra._

 _Despite it's fast speed, Kenji was prepared as he jumped up on his counter to avoid the attack. What he wasn't prepared for however was for the bunny to crash through the wood and out of the back of the stand. When Kenji turned to look behind him to see where it had gone, he was already face to face with the angry rabbit as it had leaped at him._

 _Seeing as there was no time to dodge the attack, Kenji tilted his head down enough for his red bandana to take most of the damage._

 **Red bandana +8**

 **Quality: Normal**

 **Defense: 2**

 **+32**

 **Chakra Points Until Next Upgrade: 15**

 _The bandana did its job in minimizing the attack, but there was still enough force for the small boy to be launched away and into a weapons rack._

 _Kenji touched his head and noticed that he had a small cut on his scalp and the bandana was cut in half. He tried to stand up but winced as he felt pain in his leg. Looking down he saw that a spear had managed to cut him on the thigh._

 _Slowly he reached into his yellow scarf, making sure to keep an attentive eye on the rabbit that stared at him from the top of the counter, and took out a large bandage. Without looking he peeled the back and covered the injury. This was a much stronger version of the band-aid with a faster recovery rate and an ability to numb the pain, he made sure to hide a few in his scarf for such emergencies._

 _Taking a short sword in one hand and discarded half shield in the other, he stood up to face this knew threat. "I didn't think my first opponent would be a rabbit," he said to himself as he channeled chakra through his legs and pushed off the ground at the same time as the mystery rabbit jumped through the air. They met each other in the middle, neither one of them planning on losing._

(Flashback end)

The battle between the two finally ended until the early morning, where Kenji managed to get a lucky hit in and stun it enough to trap it with a spaghetti strainer and a plate, upgrading it so that it couldn't break free and sticking a bunch of rope over it.

"Hey kid, wake up," Hana said as she shook the small boy.

"Humm, what?" Kenji said as he yawned, then looked at the person that had awoken him. She had long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, red fang tattoos on her cheeks, and a kind smile.

"You were sleeping in front of the door. Are you okay, you're looking a little banged up?" she said as she touched a scratch on his head, getting a wince from him.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm okay. You're a vet, right? Could you look at this _thing_ here for me?" he said shaking the cage violently, getting angry noises from inside. "I was hoping you could tell me if it had rabies or something?"

The female Inuzuka looked curiously at the makeshift cage, taking note of the rope and talismans, "Is that what gave you all of those cuts?"

Standing up, Kenji noticed just how much taller the older woman was, not to mention the three dogs behind her that were his size. "Yeah, it somehow got into my room and attacked me late last night."

She smiled at him as she opened the door of the veterinary, "Sure kid, I'll check it out, but first let me take a look at those scratches, wouldn't want to get them infected."

"Thank you …" he said trailing off, since she hadn't introduced herself.

"Hana Inuzuka, and you?"

"Kenji Yamamoto, mam," bowing to her in the end.

"None of that mam thing here, just call me Hana," she said as she stepped into an examining room, motioning for him to follow.

"Then you can call me Kenji," he said as he placed the plate on the examining table.

She opened the cupboards and took out some swabs and disinfectant and indicated for him to sit on the table and take off his shirt.

Kenji did as he was told and took off the kimono top, and then the three chainmail shirts that were underneath. His body was riddled with bloody lines and bitemarks, the damn thing had gotten smart and somehow found a way underneath his clothes.

"Damn kid, the hell did you say it was that attacked you," Hana said as she took out a clean cloth to wipe away the blood.

"It was a rabbit."

His answer got a raised eyebrow from the woman, but she didn't comment.

Once she cleaned the wounds, Hana went throw a few hand seals and her hands glowed green.

Kenji seeing this had to ask, "What's that for?"

Looking at her glowing hands for a second she looked at his curious gaze, "Oh this? This is a basic diagnosis jutsu. It will tell me if you contracted any disease from all of those bitemarks."

"Oh, okay then," he said as he felt the foreign chakra enter his body scanning him.

"Hmm, nothing seems to be wrong. You don't appear to have anything besides exhaustion and those wounds. Here let me fix those up while I'm at it," she said as she started closing some of his wounds.

Kenji on the other hand was transfixed at the way that the chakra moved throughout his body, searching for any abnormalities and speeding up the regenerative process of the cells to heal. It was strange, just like all the foods he had ever eaten, this jutsu had its own distinct 'flavor'. He memorized the taste without realizing it.

"Annnd done. There all fixed," the female shinobi said inspecting her work.

The plump boy inspected his body and noticed that it was back to pristine conditions, even the cut on his leg had been completely healed. "Cool!"

"Now then what say you we take a look at this ferocious beast you have trapped under here," Hana suggested as she tapped the cullender.

Kenji saw what she was about to do and rapidly but on his chainmail shirts and took out a kunai. "Be careful Hana, that thing is dangerous."

"Oh I'm sure it isn't that bad," Hana said as she took a scalpel from her sleeve and slashed the rope. She tried to do the same with the talismans, but all her attacks bounced off. Looking at the kid that had not left his guarded position she pointed at the talismans and asked, "Can you?"

Reluctantly Kenji peeled them off one my one and then leaped back as far away as he could.

Hana let out an amused snort at the way he was acting but took the top off nonetheless. As soon as it was off, the furry menace jumped straight at her face, aiming for her eyes with its chakra coated teeth. Hana however was a trained kunoichi, a chunin to be exact, and while she was taken off guard by the sudden attack, she had plenty of time to casually stretch her hand and grab it by the back of its neck. The now incapacitated bunny snarled at her while thrashing in her grip.

"See! I told you!" the boy shouted gaining the attention of the rabbit and making it start clawing in his direction.

Holding the small bunny, a distance from her, Hana had to admit it, "Yeah okay, this is pretty weird. Let me run some scans on it. I'm actually rather curious myself."

Securing her hold on it, she performed another medical jutsu. She paralyzed it and set it down on the table, then took out a clipboard and began to fill it in with information she got from a scan. It took approximately 10 minutes before she looked up again, so lost in her work.

Kenji on the other hand had started to play with the triplets, scratching them behind the ear and giving them belly rubs. He was a natural dog person.

Hana turned back to him, finally remembering that there was someone else with her, just in time to see him cause another dog to go comatose from a belly rub.

"Huh, they usually don't let people they meet for the first time scratch them like that. Anyways Kenji, I'm finished with the scan," she said as she deposited the still paralyzed rabbit into a steel reinforced cage.

"Okay, what did you find out it?"

"Well for starters, 'it' is a girl, about a month old. She's on the smaller side of her species and seems to be suffering from malnutrition."

"Normal so far."

"Yeah, but the strange thing is that it seems to have an advanced chakra network, and rather large reserves at that."

"How large are we talking about," Kenji had to ask.

"I'd say mid-level genin reserves. Usually I don't see this in animals other than my clans dogs," Hana said with an impressed tone.

Kenji meanwhile chocked on his spit, 'What! It has genin level reserves already! But I'm only at academy level right now. Did I seriously lose to a month-old rabbit!' "Okay what now," he asked.

"Well I want to keep her under observation to see what else she can do or why she seems to attack you. Although I do have some theories on the later," she said.

"You can keep her, and what do you mean theories?"

"Okay then. I noticed that she seems to have ingested some type of weird powdery substance, most of it has already been absorbed into her bloodstream," she said as she walked him out of the office.

"Huh?"

"I ask because I noticed that you and your clothes are also covered in this powered," she said.

Kenji looked confused for a second before he thought about what it was, "Ah that! It's this special dust I use when I make pills. I own a shop you see?"

"Really, for a second I thought you were an academy student?"

"Oh, I'm that too, but becoming a shop owner is my true passion," he said before taking out a piece of paper and writing the direction to his shop. "Here you go Hana, if you stop by I'll make sure to show you something good. Now what do I owe you."

Taking the piece of paper, she tucked it into her coat, "Nothing, since you brought me something so interesting, I'll wave the usual fee."

Kenji smiled at that and left, "Thanks Hana! Bye."

It was still early since, with many of the shopkeepers barely opening up their stores. Glancing at a pet supply store Kenji thought of an idea, "Maybe I should broaden my clientele. I mean there are plenty of people that have pets, like the Inuzuka, Nara, and Aburame. I should stock up on those supplies and find books on how to make my own. Plus I'm going to need to buy some new furniture after that crazy rabbit destroyed most of them. Good thing I have some money for now," he said already making plans on what to buy.

It took him twenty minutes to go to his tent and come back to the village, but once he returned he was armed with his yellow backpack and a pocket full of money.

Luckily it was a Sunday, so many outside merchants had set up make shift stands to sell their wares. The market place was buzzing with activity, and for someone like Kenji that was short, it was a hassle, but he managed to enjoy himself with the lively atmosphere.

He used this time to not only buy everything he needed but also sharpen his haggling skills.

With the money he earned yesterday he was finally able to buy some premium pieces of furniture from a professional carpenter which, meaning that now his shop wouldn't look like it was put together with things he found in the trash (which he did.) He bought some used weapons and armor, he hoped to repair them or at least cannibalize them into newer ones. He bought more jewelry, taking some higher end pieces as well as cheaper ones.

On a whim he took some plotted plants and a few seeds, since he wanted to experiment more on what his chakra dust was capable of. If it could make a seemingly harmless bunny into such a threat, he was curious on what effects it could have on some of the plants.

Not everything was for his shop however, he did buy plenty of things for himself. He bought different kimonos since his had been ruined, most of them being made out of cheap fabric with one or two of them being made of more costly material. He also bought a portable oven since he wanted some variety to his meals, and the sound of fresh bread every morning was very welcomed.

"Ah, I wish I could also sell food in my shop, but then I would need to hire people to man that. Speaking of which I really need to find someone to help with the store, or at least find a clone jutsu," he said out loud lamenting the potential loss of income. It was too bad that merchants were banned from selling jutsu scrolls and other shinobi related abilities. Konoha like all the other shinobi villages kept a tight leash on such valuable information from getting out. Anyone caught selling such items without a license or the proper clearance were given a large fine and could even face potential jailtime. Of course, taijutsu scrolls were completely different since they didn't require chakra and therefore were much easier to get a hold of. Kenji made sure to stock up on a couple of different ones, as well as some on how to use the more obscure weapons in his collection.

Finally, his last stop for the day was a blacksmithing shop. They had just bought a new forge a few weeks ago and were looking to sell their old one. Kenji had made a deposit on it so that he could reserve it for the time being until he had the rest of the money. No longer would he use his improved forge he had made from a few scrap materials, now he could finally start crafting his own weapons and armors.

He payed for the forge as well as a some of the spare equipment that they no longer had any use for. He sealed everything into a scroll and put it into his pack. The whole thing had ended up costing him roughly 500,000 ryo but at least he had a professional workshop now.

At the end of the day, he had spent most of his savings again, which left him with only 19,000 Ryo not including the 10,000 he set aside for his early graduation exam.

He walked the rest of the way to his shop, only stopping once for a brown rabbit that crossed his path. That however was enough for him to remember the little trouble maker he had left back at the vet, 'I have a feeling that this isn't the end of it.'

(Scene change)

Hana finished tending to her latest patient, an overenthusiastic pup that had gotten its head stuck inside of a jar of peanut butter.

Stretching her arms she began to write a report only to be interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Are you busy," spoke a rough feminine voice from the doorway. Looking back Hana saw that it was her mother, Tsume Inuzuka.

"Hey mom, nope. I'm free right now," she said as she motioned her inside, "Did you need anything?"

"Nah, just though if you wanted to join me for a drink," the feral looking woman offered.

"Sure, let me just finish up here. Oh! Hey, you will never guess what someone brought in today," she finished as she remembered the rabbit.

"What? Is it something interesting?" Tsume asked, slightly curious.

"Yeah, so some kid came in the morning, saying he got attacked in the middle of the night by some wild animal right. He was asking me to test it for rabies since he was covered entirely in scratches and bitemarks." Getting up she motioned her mom to fallow her out of her office and into the pens outside where she had placed the darn thing, seeing as it kept aggravating all the other animals it saw.

"Sounds like a tough little bastard," the mother huffed.

"She was, a month-old rabbit at that. But get this, it was already able to use chakra attacks and it even had genin level reserves," she said as she motioned to one of the cages.

"Really?" Tsume asked mildly impressed, "now I'm curious to meet the little thing. So where is it?"

"Where is it? It should be- Where did it go!" Hana shouted in alarm as the pen she had placed the rabbit in was empty. Taking out a key she opened it and inspected the inside.

Tsume who had stepped in looked around as well, "Ah, at least we know how she got out." Right in the corner of the cage, hidden behind a stack of hay was a small hole through the metal wall, that looked as if something small had nibbled it.

"Damn! That thing is smarter than I thought," Hana cursed as she bit her nail.

Tsume motioned for her partner Kuromaru to track her scent. "Do you have any idea where it might have gone?"

Hana didn't have to think too hard as she remembered how the small rabbit would try to attack Kenji. Taking the piece of paper the boy had given her she answered, "I have an idea. I just hope we get there in time."

(Scene Change)

Kenji took deep steady breaths as he meditated on the clear water's surface. He opened his eyes, well as much as he could, which wasn't that much, and spoke. "It's no use hiding, I know you're there. I knew you'd come for me sooner or later."

Kenji then stood up and turned around to face the rabbit that was standing on the grass a few feet away.

In reality Kenji hadn't even sensed the small menace. He had just been saying that same line and turning around every ten minutes to see if anyone would reveal themselves. 'Oh thank god, I was getting tired of doing that.'

Walking back towards land, Kenji was prepared, "You might have caught me off guard the first time rabbit, but now I know your tricks." Kenji unlike last time, was fully decked out in armor.

He had a metal breast plate over his usual attire, armored gauntlets and bracers on each hand, and strapped to his side was his trusty wooden sword. Unlike before, they were on an open plain, which meant that the rabbit wouldn't be able to change its directions by jumping off the furniture, and Kenji didn't have to worry about it breaking any of his stuff.

"This is what you are after correct," the small boy said as he fished out a pouch of his chakra dust from the depths of his armor. The angry eyes and thumping of her leg was all the answer that he needed. "I don't know why you want it, but know that getting it will not be easy," he finished by putting it back in its hiding place.

"It seems we are at a crossroad my friend. You want my powder, and I am unwilling to give it up. There is only one way to settle this!" shouting the last part, Kenji pulled his wooden sword from his waist and pointed the tip downwards.

 **Wooden Sword +12**

 **Quality: Low Human**

 **Attack: 80**

 **\+ 480**

 **10+: 10% chance of causing the knockback effect on opponents.**

 **12+: 25% chance of sending a chakra lance towards a target that you stab at.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 203**

The rabbit didn't need much incentive to attack as it zig-zagged towards him.

Kenji didn't panic at all, only concentrated on his own movements. He noticed the brief glow that covered its body before it jumped at him with blinding speed, and yet despite its impressive speed Kenji sidestepped it's attack flawlessly.

The rabbit landed and turned to him, shocked that it had been unable to hit, when just yesterday that same attack left Kenji fumbling to get away. It tried again only for the same result to happen, only this time Kenji slapped it away with the back of his empty hand in midair.

The reason for the sudden increase in speed had to do with the two rings that were on his fingers.

 **Red Glass Ring +8**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Defense: 0**

 **+25 Agility**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 5**

Agility didn't just boost leg speed, but also reaction time and eye speed. To him, the bunny might as well have been moving through honey with how slow it was going. The 50 additional points in agility were incredible, even if he had needed to get used to the sudden increase in speed.

As he watched the rabbit skid on the ground, Kenji adjusted his grip on the sword and dashed forward. Once he was just five feet away, he thrust his sword forward. The distance however was too far for the sword to hit, but just as it looked like it would miss, Kenji felt the familiar pull of his chakra as the wooden blade gained a blue shine and a blue lance was launched from the tip.

The area where the chakra attack had hit exploded into a dust cloud, obscuring the area. Kenji waited cautiously for the dust to settle, and once it did he noticed a hole the width of his blade pierced the ground, a small burrow only an inch away. "Tch, it must have burrowed into the ground at the last minute."

Carefully he scanned the ground, waiting for it to pop-up. He expected it to come out of a new hole, so he was caught off guard when it flew at him using the same hole it had just dug. Kenji was about to slash it with his sword when it opened its small mouth and a ball of mud struck his eyes, blinding him. The rabbit took advantage of the opening and tried to slash his head open with its chakra covered claws.

Kenji raised a bracer covered hand to protect his face.

"Argh!" screamed Kenji as the attack had slashed his eyelid in half, but thankfully the eye was left uninjured. 'Shit! I really need to find a helmet or a mask that fits me soon!'

Wiping away the mud from his remaining eye he saw it leap away.

He held back tears as the pain from his eye continued to sting, he could feel a line of blood reach his chin.

"I-I have to admit. You surprised me. But no longer!" the pudgy boy declared as he got serious and went through a few hand signs. Nothing visible happened as he charged at the rabbit but as he slashed at it from the right, another sword appeared from the left.

The rabbit was confused, and so it jumped up only for a third sword to materialize above it. The hit drove it into the ground, making it bounce momentarily, but Kenji wasn't done yet as he grabbed it in one hand and launched it higher into the air. Grabbing his sword by the blade he threw it like a spear at the airborne rabbit, hitting it in the chest.

Then with well-practiced movements he performed the substitution jutsu with his weapon, disappearing with a puff of smoke and reappearing next to his opponent in the air. Channeling chakra into his hand he gave a palm strike to the defenseless animal.

Kenji landed back on the ground gently, while the white bunny crashed harshly.

Taking his sword back, the fox eyed boy walked to his downed opponent and pointed his blade at its struggling form, "Although, you might have more chakra than me, you are unskilled in how to use it. You carelessly launched attack after attack without control. You have no technique and no chakra control, only brute strength. You will never be able to beat a shinobi with just that alone."

The rabbit continued to glare at him, but was too weak to do anything else, it was far too injured to even breath properly despite using some of it's chakra to soften the blows.

Kenji stabbed his wooden blade into the ground beside him and sat cross-legged facing it. Taking out two red sake cups from inside his armor he placed one in front of him and the other in front of the rabbit that looked at it with suspicious eyes. He then took out a bottle of carrot juice from somewhere and filled both of them to the brim.

"I don't know why you want my dust, but I am not just going to give it away," he said taking the cup in one hand, "that being said, I am willing to give you some if you were to become my partner for the time being. What do you say? If you still feel like fighting me once you gain some strength again I will be more than willing to battle with you."

The rabbit continued to glare at him for five solid minutes before it tilted it's head the slightest bit downward in acknowledgment and licked at the juice in the cup.

Kenji smiled at that and took a sip of his own carrot juice. "From now on, I am the boss. If you want to be boss, then you have to defeat me, understand?"

The rabbit nodded reluctantly, before laying its head in exhaustion.

"Good! Now all I need is to give you a name. How about Akame, it means red eyes," he said as he went to pick up his new partner. She snorted at the name but didn't protest. "Awesome, my name is Kenji Yamamoto, now let's go visit Hana and see if she can heal you up."

They had just made it towards the entrance of the shop when Hana and Tsume appeared in a whirlwind of leaves.

They looked at each other for a second, with a bleeding and injured Kenji holding Akame gently in his arms.

"Damn kid, you got fucked up," the ever elegant Tsume commented.

"Yeah, she was a tough opponent. Hey Hana, do you think you could check on her, while I get something for my eye?" he asked the kind girl.

"Sure Kenji," she said taking Akame into her hands, getting an angry noise in return.

"Oh! Please step inside if you want. You're free to browse," offered the fat boy as he motioned them inside, even their canine partners.

Once they were all inside he went towards his room to clean his face and placed a medical eye patch over his injured eye, letting it take some of his left over chakra and turn it into medical chakra.

He walked back into the shop portion of the tent to see Tsume looking over some of the weapons while Hana was healing Akame.

"So, did you find anything you like?" he said with a smile.

"What's with these outrageous prices," the Inuzuka clan partridge complained as she held out a price tag that said 80,000 Ryo.

"I can assure you that everything is well worth their price. Would you like a demonstration," the small boy said with a devilish smile. After all the excitement of fighting for the day, he was ready to go back to something simple like manning his shop.

It took only a few minutes to demonstrate some of his items to the mother-daughter duo, but once he was finished he had managed to make them part with all of the ryo they had in their wallet. All shinobi carried around a stash of money on them at all time, since they never knew when they might need it, and Kenji was able to make take 28,000 ryo in total. He even threw in a set of chastity rings for Hana healing Akame.

They were rather excited over the rings and promised that they would come at a later day to purchase more for the clan. Kenji was happy at the promise of a future sale and asked them to tell anyone they knew about them.

It was as they were leaving that Kuromaru perked up and walked toward something at the edge of the room.

"Kuromaru what wrong," Tsume said to her partner as she walked in his direction.

"Something interesting," he said pointing to what looked like a mask/muzzle for a dog made out of metal with a row of sharp interconnecting teeth that looked like they were made out of kunai blades.

Kenji seeing what they were talking about picked up the contraption. This was a prototype for his new line of armor designed for animals. It was a metal muzzle designed to open up and let the dog bit the target with the row of razor sharp metal teeth, black leather straps secured it in place, and it had a built-in poison filter.

 **Metal Canine Jaws +10**

 **Quality: Low human**

 **Attack: 420**

 **\+ 500 Attack**

 **10+: Can channel chakra through the mask to launch wind attacks.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 200**

"This is just a prototype. I haven't fully tested it," he told them as he went to place it behind his counter.

Kuromaru spoke up, "Why not test it out now."

"I don't really think-" Kenji started only to be cut off by a hard pat on the back by Tsume.

"Ah come on kid, nothing ventured nothing gained, we're curious to see what it can do, isn't that right Kuromaru." she said throwing her friend a wild grin.

The small boy was still unsure but the more he thought about it the more it made sense, 'I do need to test it, and Kuromaru did volunteer. What could go wrong.'

Giving in he led them outside again.

"Okay, but please be careful with it, it's the first one that actual passed," he pleaded as he finished strapping it to the large dog's face. The once intimidating one-eyed dog now looked even more ferocious with the mask on.

"Looking good Kuromaru," Tsume commented as she inspected his new appearance, the mask was purposely made a little bigger than the actual jaw of the dog so that it wouldn't hurt its teeth.

"I guess the first step is seeing the biting potential of the jaws, why don't you try taking a chuck out of that tree," he said as he took out a notepad to record everything.

Kuromaru looked at the tree in question and opened his jaws, before giving the bark a soft squeeze triggering the biting mechanism. In an instant the metal jaws slammed close with a fast snap and the tree had a large portion of it missing.

"Nice, the closing of the jaws works perfectly. Next try a boulder, I want to test the toughness of the metal."

The large wolf dog did as it was told and bit into the boulder, the hard stone proved no resistant what so ever as the metal teeth sliced it like warm butter. Kenji inspected the grooves left behind and saw how smooth they were.

"Very nice. I guess the last step is testing the special ability."

"Oh, you mean like those kunai," Hana commented for the first time.

"Yeah, this is a low human grade chakra artifact after all. Kuromaru I need you to open the jaws as wide as you can and channel chakra through it. Make sure you are facing the lake while you do," Kenji shouted besides Tsume, Hana, and the triplets.

The large canine did exactly that, channeling a large amount of chakra into the metal jaws. A small almost invisible ball of swirling air appeared a few inches from his teeth shocking him greatly. So surprised was he, that lost control of the attack and it exploded out of his mouth and into the water, he was pushed back by the force of the wind since he had not steadied himself.

The seemingly small sphere hit the lake with the force of a hurricane and launched a large majority of its contents high into the air.

Kenji looked deadpanned at the large dog as he and the rest of the Inuzuka family were showered with the falling water. "That's a yes on the ability I guess. Try to do it again but experiment with how you channel the chakra."

The testing went on for another hour with the first ten minutes of Kuromaru just test new attacks, that was until Tsume couldn't contain herself anymore and joined him. Together they rampaged through the training ground, laughing at the strength of their new attacks, uncaring of Kenji that was yelling at them to stop, since he didn't want to pay the fine if the training ground got too damaged.

Finally, when they calmed down again, they listened to the small boy and stopped.

The ground was covered in huge trenches, and a whole section of the forest had their trees turned into sawdust. At least, Kenji was able to collect some good data. For example, Kuromaru could not only throw those air balls out, but also send out blades of wind, or a single blast of compressed air when he barked. He was even able to coat himself and Tsume into a ball of razer sharp wind during their combined attack, making it many times more dangerous.

"Hahahaha! That was fun!" the feral woman laughed before turning to her partner, "What about you Kuromaru?"

"That indeed was enjoyable?" he said wagging his tail behind him, his remaining eye showed eagerness to do it again.

"Thank you for helping me test it out," Kenji said as he undid the last of the straps.

"Hold on kid, I want to buy it, how much," the woman all of a sudden said when it looked like Kenji was going to put it back behind the counter.

"Huh? Are you sure? This is a low-human borderline mid-human artifact. It isn't like those kunai that you saw earlier?" Kenji said with a bit of doubt.

"Kid, I'm the head of a clan, I think I know what I am doing. Name your price," Tsume said, determined to leave with that item by the end of the day.

"Fine. Let's see, including the cost of the material, it's ability, the overall production time, … aaand the total is 400,000 Ryo. Do you still want to buy it?"

Hana and the triplets that were watching everything, chocked on their spit. Even the woman in question sucked her teeth before a nudge from her partner got her back.

Seeing the silent conversation between the two Kenji decided on a compromise. "However, I will lower the price to 100,000 Ryo in exchange for some jutsu."

Tsume was still unsure, "What type of jutsu. I can't give away any clan techniques, you understand?"

He waved her off, "I don't need any of those. I don't even have a dog remember, so those are useless to me. It doesn't matter the type as long as they are C-rank and above, I would also prefer a cloning technique."

"How many?" she said finding it a better alternative.

"Well it depends on the jutsu?" he said not giving her a fixed amount.

"Fine wait a few minutes until I return," she said as she disappeared in a burst of speed in the direction of the village.

It took less than a minute for her to reach her clan compound, and as she burst in through the front door she ignored her youngest.

"Hey mom w-" Kiba asked before being pushed aside by a hand to the face.

"Come one where did I leave them! I know I put them somewhere! Aha!" she said as she found some jutsu scrolls she had tucked in behind a hidden wall.

With that she was off again, and reached the tent in record time. Inside Kenji and Hana were chatting, with the small boy talking the lovely girl into an advance medical pack in exchange for some medical ninjutsu.

By the end of the day, Kuromaru was the proud owner of the Wind Jaws as he had named them. Kenji on the other hand now had 4 jutsu scrolls, including the Earth Release: Earth Clone. He also told them that he would inform them when he had more of the canine armor.

As he finished getting ready for bed, he placed the now healed Akame on a large pillow inside of a basket besides his bed. "Ahh, another day's work. I want to earn enough money to buy a store soon. That way I could have more customers on a daily basis. Oh well, ever little bit counts right. Good night Akame," he said to his new partner.

He received a glare in return, but at least she had stopped trying to attack him, so progress. Lifting the covered of his bed he noticed that someone had left him a present. With a glare he looked at the slightly smirking rabbit, "That's _real_ mature, you know."

* * *

 **A/N: Done. I hope you enjoyed it.**

 **I looked at some of the comments that you guys posted on what you thought the white rabbit might be, and I got to say I am impressed. Some of them surprised me. Got to say that Kaguya being trapped in the body of a rabbit would be hilarious but that isn't it entirely. Although it is very close.**

 **I will say this, Akame does have a 'brother'. If you want another hint, I suggest paying close attention to her fur color,** _ **white**_ **and** _ **black**_ **.**

 **That being said, Akame does introduce another trope that is found in wuxia novels, and that is Spirit Beast. Spirit Beast are basically the animal equivalent of ninja or summoned animals, the only difference being in that they hold special abilities unique to their person and have a beast core that can be eaten to strengthen others or to make artifacts and tools.**

 **Akame is basically a 0 level spirit beast since she has yet to develop a beast core, but once the chakra dust in her system starts to settle it will condescend to form it. This is only unique to animals since humans are unable to make this crystal in their bodies.**

 **I hope Kenji's small fight scene was good, even if it was against a rabbit. I am trying to not make him too powerful, instead am focusing on his character. He will be the type of person that will look at a powerful jutsu and think, 'How can I make this into a profit?'**

 **Examples:**

 **Shadow clones= free labor**

 **Flying thunder god= express mailing service**

 **Wood release= free timber, / faster cheaper crops**

 **You get the idea. If you have suggestions or just want to see him learn a certain jutsu write it down in the comment but be sure to include a way that it could make him money.**

 **I am also working on updating some of my other fanfics to those who are waiting for that.**


	6. Growing Business

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references mentioned in this fanfic.**

 **Chapter 6**

"The total will be 870 ryo."

"Here you go, keep the change!"

"Thank you, have a great day!"

Kenji waved the ecstatic kunoichi goodbye as he began placing the money in the cash register. He was interrupted however when something pulled on his sleeve.

Glancing to the side he saw Akame glaring at him while nudging at a clear glass jar with the word 'Tips' written on the side. The jar had a cartoon version of Akame surrounded with carrots.

Kenji held the crisp bill tighter as he matched her glare. "No. I already bought you something just yesterday, this tip is mine."

The small bunny rapidly thumped her leg against the wooden counter top in agitation.

"You scratch that, and I'll skin you alive. This entire counter is worth more than your miserable hide will ever be," the fat boy say taking out a kunai from his sleeve, letting the light shine menacingly against the blade as his face gained a ominous look despite still having his ever present smile.

Akame stopped her tantrum reluctantly, but she still glared at him.

Closing the register, the boy leaned on the counter and looked at his partner, "Also, why aren't you wearing the uniform I made for you. Show some pride damn it! You are part of 'Moon Artifacts' now, as the mascot you should be happy to represent it."

There was a heated glaring contest between the two but eventually Akame bowed her head and scurried to the bedroom.

She came back carrying a bundle of colorful red and white cloth, and with Kenji's help she was dressed once more. She was dressed as a tiny shrine maiden outfit, with red hakama pants, a white haori, and some tabi socks. There was even a small hole made at the back that allowed her fluffy white tail to peak out.

"There, now don't you just look adorable," Kenji gushed as he scratched her under the chin only to get a bite when she got annoyed. "Ow!" The rabbit turned her head to the side, a sign that Kenji took as her being embarrassed.

It had been a little more than a week since he had met Akame, and a lot of changes had occurred.

Thanks to Tsume, he had finally gotten that cloning technique that he had always wanted. He would usually summon a couple every morning to man the shop, while he either trained outside or made more products for the shop in his room. The only real downside was that each clone took 1/10 of his total chakra and memories couldn't be transferred when they were dispelled. So, he would usually wake up in the middle of the night and make them before going back to sleep to replenish his chakra and then order them to take careful notes on all the sales that happened when he wasn't there.

The extra help was also greatly needed since Tsume and Hana had been true to their word and came back the very next day with more clan members. Tsume used the clan funds to purchase a large number of Chastity Rings and armor, as well as some supplies.

It would seem that Tsume had called a clan meeting after she got home. Many of the elders and veteran shinobi were rather interested in the weapons and armor, while their canine companions looked at Kuromaru with awe and envy, complimenting his fierce appearance before demanding their partner buy them some armor as well.

It seemed that almost the entire clan had gathered outside his tent the very next day. The entire day had been hectic and Kenji had been forced to spend the entire day in the forge while his clones manned the shop and took down the different orders. At some point some of the clan members had decided to celebrate and made a return trip to the village for some BBQ supplies. They partied the day away, many using their newly purchased weapons to hold a mock battles, at that point Kenji knew that he would never get his deposit back. He used all that growing resentment to pound the metal even harder even as the smell of cooking meat made his mouth water.

That day, he had made a large number of sales and even had to spend the next couple of days filling in orders and restocking some of his supplies. Even now, he was still backed up with orders.

His chakra levels had raised by a large amount during this time on account of upgrading all of the equipment. Kenji had finally reached Genin level reserves when he passed 500 Chakra Points.

After a week the number of customers had slowed down to only a handful, something that he was grateful for, since he had been running on fumes for the last couple of days.

With the extra money he had gotten he was finally able to give his shop the image he always wanted. He dubbed his business Moon Artifact on account of his shop's specialty, talisman blessed by Kaguya, and Chakra Artifacts created by him. A picture of Akame dressed as a shrine miko was the official logo.

Kenji gave a sigh as he dreamed of the day when his small makeshift shop would become the leading authority in all goods through out the entire Elemental Nations, then he could retire to a tropical island resort and spend his carefree days away from all the danger in the world.

Seeing an earth clone leading a customer to one of the display cases he decided that he was in need of a break. "Come on Akame, I think we can leave this to my clones," he said as he picked up the rabbit in his hands before exiting the tent.

He was dressed in some Han style clothing, like those from Ancient China, a red silk robe with wide open sleeves that partially covered the white baggy pants underneath. They were made from the best materials available with the silk alone being enough to make the past Kenji spit out blood. The seamstress practically had to tear Kenji's fingers off when they wear unable to release their grip on the ryo bills. Kenji cried himself all the way home but it was all worth it in the end.

 **Han Style Robe +10**

 **Quality: Low-Human**

 **Defense: 40**

 **\+ 800**

 **10+: Able to absorb a portion of chakra from Fire jutsu and give it to the wearer. 100% resistant to fire or heat.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 340**

 **Han Style Pants +10**

 **Quality: Low-Human**

 **Defense: 30**

 **+600**

 **10+: Leg speed is increased by 500% for 5 seconds.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 300**

As he had guessed, the better the material, the better the chance for it to be upgraded to a higher level, especially if it was made of natural materials like silk. The large flowing clothes not only helped to make him look more important, but it was also great in concealing all manner of hidden items on his body. Being the cautious person that he was, he still wore chain mail mesh underneath and solid steel plates around his shins and forearms.

Reaching into the sleeve of his robe he pulled out a scroll and unrolled it on the floor. With a simple hand sign a white marble table appeared in front of him in a puff of smoke.

He unsealed a chair and some snacks before sitting down with Akame.

"I can't wait until I have my own shop, then I can finally start working for real."

The white bunny looked at him with bored eyes as she munched away at some baby carrots.

"…"

"You're right, I should take things slow. No point in worrying about the future when I can enjoy the present. Still wouldn't it be great to have our own little place to call home. Nothing too big but something grand."

"…"

"I see, I see," Kenji agreed while nodding his head in agreement, "that's a good point. Why dream at all if you can't dream big! Okay Akame, new plan! We buy a large deserted island, build a resort, make a village, and then with careful marketing we start a chain of hotels in every country until we take over the world!"

"…"

"You know, this would be much easier if you could talk or if you would at least respond to me," the chubby boy said as he opened a bag of chips and began to shovel them in his mouth with a depressed sigh.

 **(Scene Change)**

"Here is the report, Hokage-sama," a man wearing a white Anbu mask in the shape of a bird said from his kneeling position as he placed the folder on the aged ninja's desk.

Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned backwards in his chair as he closed his eyes and took a long drag of his pipe, taking a moment to savor the feeling of the tabacco rich air filling his lungs before exhaling. "You have done well Hawk, you can return to your post."

The Anbu disappeared without a sound.

The Third Hokage opened up the manila folder to show a collection of pictures showing a plump 10-year-old boy doing different activities. Behind that were countless report given from different Anbu explaining what they had seen.

A little over a week ago, he had received a message from one of Madam Shijimi's handmaidens with a request in protecting the boy in question with clear warning that Danzo Shimura should not be allowed within 100 ft of the him.

While the letter had had come as a request, he knew very well that it was intended as an order. The Daimyo had been more than generous after the Kyuubi attack, the taxes that the village need to pay to him were put on hold until they could get back on their feet. They were barely able to pay off the first of the payments earlier this year but they were still dancing on the razor's edge. The finance specialists wear pulling out hairs and drinking enough caffeine to give an elephant a heart attack just to make the books match.

All of that good will however would disappear faster than a pile of meat in front of an Akimichi if they were to deny his wife a simple request.

He put his best Anbu on 24/7 watch on the boy, while he ordered an in-depth investigation on the him.

Despite how jolly the woman seemed, there was a reason why she was made the daimyos wife, when there were much more beautiful candidates. She possessed a sharp and analytical mind that was perfect for politics. The only reason why the current Daimyo was still in power despite his fickle and indecisive nature had to do largely with the fact she had crushed every possible opposition with ruthless political tactics. It was safe to assume that she was the one that ultimately made the decisions. Underestimating her was only something fools would do, as was the reason why he was investigating this case. If she had already laid claims to the boy, then Hiruzen needed to know why.

'It looks like the changes started almost two months ago. Witness reports state that Kenji Yamamoto collapsed on the ground on his way home with no apparent cause. The caretaker of the apartment complex he lives in noted a clear change of behavior in the following days. Shin, a local weapon's smith and retired shinobi revealed that he sold him some equipment… along with a side note saying that the boy seems to have no working taste buds. Interesting?' Hiruzen thought as he stroked his goatee.

'Looking over the report from his academy teacher, it says that Kenji started showing remarkable improvement in all aspects showing a particular interest in history. He frequents the civilian library and from what the librarian says, he surrounds himself with books on law and medicine. Perhaps he has an interest in being a medic?'

Finally he took a flyer from the pile of papers, it was one of the original flyers that Kenji had made.

"Now the only problem."

He had already sent a group of Anbu to comb the inside of the boy's apartment for any clues. They found a manner of different tools used for crafting and even some supplies but nothing overly dangerous, although those sandwiches that were left inside of the fridge would come close to being called a biological weapon. Week old tuna and jam, yuck!

The only things that wear out of place was a home-made shrine set up in one corner of the room and the large amount of chakra residue inside of the bathtub.

He had sent some undercover shinobi to the so-called shop to gather some intel, and what they had brought back was startling to say the least. The research and development were going crazy over the items that wear brought and more than one of them had to be stopped from jumping off the Hokage Monument when they were unable to figure out how they worked.

From the sales reports given to him by the local shops, it was clear that Kenji had been buying up ordinary items and somehow changing them into something new.

He had some Hyuga members try to peak into the tent to see if they could find the exact process used but all attempts seemed to be futile. The byakugan was somehow blocked, by nothing more than by what seemed slips of paper with some writing on it. At first he thought that the boy had acquired some sealing tags that were powerful enough to block it, but looking at the pictures he could tell that they weren't fuinjutsu at all. The Hyuga clansmen also said that almost all of the items inside of the shop had a strange chakra-like aura that they could only see when they stopped paying attention to the item in question but would disappear whenever they tried to focus.

Taking another page from the pile he read it in a fraction of a second, a skill developed through countless hours of paperwork, and moved on to the next.

He snorted while rolling his eyes. Many of the people he sent to buy something wrote less than flattering things about the boy. There was all manner of names that they used but some of the ones that frequently showed up were: 'black hearted', 'silver tonged', 'greedy', 'piglet', 'greedy pig', 'money grubber' and so on. Seeing the prices of some of the things they bought, Hiruzen had to agree. He could just tell that the finance department would be spitting out blood when they finished reimbursing them.

'So it would appear that the boy either has developed some new secret technique to enhance regular items or more likely, he has some sort of kekkei genkai involved with the manipulation of chakra. It would also appear that he has already made strong connections between himself and the Daimyo's wife as well as the Inuzuka Clan.'

Placing the last of the papers back in the folder he stood up to stretch his legs. Walking toward the open window, he once more cursed himself for retaking the position of Hokage. It was a beautiful day, and he wanted nothing more than to spend time with his grandson Konohamaru at the park or maybe enjoy a bowl of ramen with his pseudo-grandson Naruto. Unfortunately, there was still work to be done if wanted to maintain these times of peace.

"Hawk. I have a new mission for you."

 **(Scene Change)**

"They're getting smarter," a worried Kenji commented as he dropped a small green gecko into an oversized fish tank before hurriedly closing the lid. He watched as the lizard stood up on it's hind legs like a person before repeatedly hitting the glass with a clenched fist. (Think of that Geico gecko from the commercials)

Tap! Tap! Tap!

The space he was in was at the very bottom of his backpack, hidden away from prying eyes.

After the events of Akame, Kenji had taken to booby-trapping his stash of chakra dust. This was just the latest attempt by the mutated animals to get his special dust.

Usually Akame was the one to take care of them in exchange for a treat, but this latest attempt had caught his interest. The darn thing had waltzed into the shop on two legs before taking out a senbon needle strapped to its back before roaring in challenge and leaping at him from the entrance, Sparta style.

Kenji was so dumbfounded that he didn't even realize when he had grabbed a boot and thrown it at that gecko-thing until it was too late.

Thankfully no one else was in the shop at the time, he couldn't have people spreading rumors that he was being challenged by small bipedal reptiles after all, it would be bad for business.

"I really wish I knew where these things kept coming from. If I had know that the dust would have this affect beforehand, then maybe I would have taken better care in disposing of it instead of just flushing it all down the drain," the boy said in frustration rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Turning to leave, he called out to the small rabbit before taking hold of the rope attached to the opening of the bag, "Come on Akame, stop bothering the lizard thing."

While Kenji was climbing out, Akame was having a silent staring contest with the mutated gecko. Then her expression changed into one of extreme arrogance as she looked down on the small reptile behind the safety of the upgraded glass cage.

She turned to leave but not before throwing it a smug look and a visible snort as if say, 'What did you expect from a weakling.'

The gecko proved to be intelligent enough to recognize the look on the small white bunny and began to pound harder on the glass in clear indignation.

Kenji worked hard on his chakra control at every given opportunity convincing himself that there was always something else he could do to improve. That however was unneeded as, unknown to Kenji, he had an unnatural talent for manipulating chakra thanks to upgrading all manner of different objects.

 **Chakra: Genin**

 **Chakra Points: 445/580**

The reason for the large increases to his chakra reserves had a lot to do with him abusing the upgrading system for the passed week. After creating the clones to man the shop in the morning he would take some chakra pills to restore his chakra and begin upgrading the next batch of equipment before passing out, then he would wake up in two hours and begin the process again, only stopping when he needed to eat or make more pills.

He had already lost 7 pounds from just this week alone from all the work. Thankfully all of that hard work had paid off and he only had a handful of custom orders he needed to make before he could go back to enjoying himself.

Taking out a slip of white paper he placed it on the counter and coated it with a thin layer of chakra. Taking a deep breath he tried to levitate it without actually touching it.

From all the sales he made with the Inuzuka clan, he had acquired a rather size able amount of Ryo and jutsu scrolls. While he wasn't interested in learning the more destructive jutsus, he was on the look out for those that would increase his chances of survival in the world. He almost shed a tear or two when he finally managed to obtain a copy of the Body Flicker Technique, the best running away technique in his humble opinion. While he knew that he would never come close to using it to the same mastery as experts like Shisui, he hoped that he could at least be competent enough to escape the average jonin.

He was even able to acquire some rather interesting chakra control exercise from the clan.

With furrowed eyebrows, the pudgy boy tried to take his hand away from the paper while still leaving behind some residue chakra. Surprisingly, Kenji found that it was far easier than the scroll had described, "It must be because I'm already used to doing something similar everyday."

Now that his hand finally left the paper he could feel a slight connection between himself and it.

"Let's see, the scroll said that I should picture myself picking it up, almost as if I had an invisible hand."

Again, prior training helped in this regard, because he just relied on his training with the basic clone jutsu to picture another arm.

With batted breath, the paper finally began to wobble before finally raising a few inches from the counter's surface.

"I did it already?" Kenji said confused. The scroll said that it would usually take months of practice to master this move, but he had only been at it for a couple of minutes. "Perhaps I missed something?"

The technique was a basic one that many clan members new about since it was often used to manipulate sealing tags, usually by sending a barrage of exploding tags to the enemy from a distance. Despite that, not many actually learned it since it was much easier to just attach a kunai to the tag and the amount of chakra control needed to actually control even just one was absurd. Worse still was that it could only be used on sealing tags since anything heavier than paper would be impossible to control, only chakra strings could achieve that.

"Did I perhaps get cheated, and only handed the first part of the technique?" Kenji said with a frown.

With a bit of more practice, he managed to get three slips of paper to orbit around the crown of his head, "Looks like three is my limit."

Giving a disappointed sigh, Kenji released his control on the paper and they fell back down to the counter.

Signaling an earth clone, he headed towards his bedroom to check on his latest experiments.

To the side of the small enclosed place was a set of 11 small potted plants showing different levels of growth.

Picking up a spray bottle and a notebook from his nightstand he began to record his observations.

"Experiments 1-5 have been sprayed daily with growth formula mixed with some chakra dust. Pots 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 have all been planted with soil that has chakra dust mixed inside. Pots 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 have dust sprinkled directly on them every 12 hours," he said as he took out a measuring tape and began to measure the size of all of the stems.

A week ago he had gotten the idea of planting strawberry plants in order to find out more about the capabilities of the chakra dust. It had only been 8 days but almost every single seed had matured into a 2-4 week old plant. The control group, which didn't have anything added only now showed signs of germination as was the norm. From this he could conclude that chakra dust definitely had a large impact on plant life not just animals.

'I'm curious to see if the fruit produced by these plants will also have special properties? Since Akame seems to be able to digest chakra dust I'm sure that she will also be able to eat them. Although I should also see if it's safe for people to eat as well? I should be okay since I finally finished creating a detoxifying pill, but even still I should real get down to studying those healing jutsus that Hana gave me,' he contemplated before noticing Akame trying to nibble on one of the plants containing the chakra dust. "Akame! You stop that right now! I already gave you some dust this morning!"

Akame looked like she was considering the risks of not listen to him before she snorted angrily at his direction and jumped on his bed.

Seeing as he was already in his room, he took out the pill furnace and began the process of pill refining. He was constantly experimenting with new plants and techniques, trying to find new combinations. He would fail about 97% of the time, even when he used good luck talismans, but with every success his recipe book was slowly getting bigger.

Almost half his income was devoted into researching pills and elixirs while the rest was used to buy new equipment or improving his shop. Expansion was his goal, so that meant that he couldn't afford to waste all of his hard-earned money on frivolous things like he wanted to.

He spent the entire day cooped up in his room, leaving closing the shop up to his clones.

Before using up the remainder of his chakra in upgrading artifacts, Kenji made sure to leave a plate of hand made moon cakes in front of the newly built shrine he had made for Kaguya. He offered a quick prayer and fell asleep as soon as his chakra reserves dropped to zero.

 **(Next day)**

Kenji was currently sitting perfectly still on top of the man-made lake in a meditate pose. Akame was on the shore observing him with a bowl full of ripe lettuce leaves since she didn't want to get her fur soaked.

With eyes closed the young academy student breathed in a calming breath and slowly all outside influences began to disappear one by one.

He began to leak out a minuscule amount of chakra from his hands, paying careful attention to the tenketsu, or the chakra points, located in his hands.

Once he felt them, he tried to reduce the number until he could only feel one chakra point still active.

Taking another calming breath, he focused specifically on this one point, familiarizing himself with it, trying with all his might to memorize the position and feel as the chakra traveled from his reserves through his chakra network before finally being released from his hand.

With every inhaled and exhale he would release or cut back the flow, trying to make it second nature. Once he had accomplished that, he would move on to the next chakra point.

As a blacksmith and as a person it could be said that he valued precision above all else.

While strength did play a part in molding the metal, without precise hammer strikes it would be the same thing as a monkey hitting it. The memories from the Adult Kenji had taught him that.

Kenji A's grandfather had always been proud of his heritage and expected all of his descended to have equal pride, going so far as to 'educated' them when it looked like they would disagree. When 13-year-old Kenji A had first made his opinion of being uninterested in the art of blacksmithing, his grandfather had proposed a test.

He was given a hammer and a long plank of wood with two hundred 3-inch nails and told that if he didn't want to be a blacksmith he needed to pound each nail all the way into the wood with a single strike. If he were to fail even once, then he needed to start all over. The deadline was until the end of summer break.

For weeks Kenji A would spend all his time pounding nail after nail into the wooden board, but no matter how good he had gotten there would always be one nail that would either bend or snap in half. Throughout this, the Japanese boy had finally found his passion to be a blacksmith and accepted his fate to take over the family trade. It wasn't until years later when he was close to being an official master that Kenji A finally found out that his grandfather had purposely placed some defective nails into his pile to make sure he failed.

The current Kenji had a great time reviewing some of the original's memories, taking a particular interest in the relationship that the adult Kenji shared with his kooky grandfather.

He was finally able to control all of the chakra points in his left index finger by the time that lunch time had arrived.

Taking a bite from the sandwich that one of his clones had made for him, he glanced at Akame that was currently eating a salad made of fresh greens topped with some crushed nuts and berries.

"Would it kill you to do something productive. All I've ever seen you do since arriving is eat and sleep. If you aren't making money, then you're wasting it, and I won't have that you hear. So either do something, or else I'm going to have to cut back on your meals!" Rubbing his chin in a thinking position he thought out loud, "Three carrots a day should be plenty."

Akame growled at him, which was more cute than anything else, before crouching down as if getting ready to pounce on him.

A knife fell into his awaiting palm from the depths of his sleeves, which the young boy waved menacingly in front of him, "Oh! You want to go!? Bring it you little furball? I've been meaning to see if I could upgrade a lucky rabbit's foot, maybe then you might actually make me some money!?"

The rabbit saw the glint of greed shine through the slit like eyelids that showed that he was actually considering the idea.

She back down quickly and used her more powerful technique, the Moe-no-jutsu. Throwing herself on her back she exposed her white fluffy belly and looked at him with a set of big round innocent eyes as if trying to say, 'you wouldn't hurt someone as cute as me, right?'

Kenji's response was a deadpanned expression before placing the kunai back in its hiding place. "Whatever. Knowing you, it might actually cause me to have bad luck."

He was just going to take another bite when he saw someone walk into the clearing. This person had a ugly green jumpsuit, hair cut into the shape of a bowl, and the thickest eyebrows he had ever seen.

In front of his shop was none other that the Green Beast himself, Maito Gai.

* * *

 **A/N: Finished ;)**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **So to answer a question that was asked. Will Kenji have summon contract?**

 **The answer is yes and no. While he won't get a contract from an already existing clan, he will eventually make his own comprised of all the spirit beasts he encounters.**

 **If you haven't guessed already, the first batches of chakra dust were flushed down the drain, meaning that they were dumped into the ecosystem where countless animals and plants could be exposed to it. So expect random spirit beasts to pop up, just to challenge him for some dust.**

 **I like all of the ideas for upgraded equipment in the comments, and I'll be sure to use some of them in the coming chapters.**

 **As for the matter concerning Kaguya, she is fine with only observing him for the moment since she is curious to see what he is capable of.**

 **Remember that Kaguya has been asleep this whole time, the reason why Naruto and Sasuke were able to beat her originally was because she was unaware of what shinobi could really do. She didn't know any jutsu besides the ash bones and a few others, so everything that was thrown at her was more or less a surprise.**

 **Expect a meeting in later chapters.**

 **Kenji also still has to come up with a method to cultivate since he will be the first cultivator in history after all, but he will be getting there soon.**


	7. Truth of the Eight Gates

**Disclaimer: I don't Naruto or any other references mentioned in this fanfic.**

 **A/N: So quick note. In this chapter I will try to explain a little more on the eight gates.**

 **The show doesn't really cover much on them, other than opening all eight will cause even a normal civilian to have Kage level power in exchange for dying. So this will be my own theory as well as the explanation used in this fanfic.**

 **Don't worry if you don't understand everything, since I will cover it more in-depth in later chapters.**

 **I would also like to take this moment to point out that there must have been more Gate users in the history, since Madara recognized Gai using the gates when they first met, as well as the fact that many people already knew about the gates before Gai and the consequences of using them.**

 **This is Gai before Rock Lee by the way, they haven't official met yet.**

 **Chapter 7**

Standing up from his sitting position, he went to welcome the eccentric jonin.

"Good afternoon," Kenji greeted taking a closed fist and placing it into his open palm before bowing.

Gai gave a dazzling smile, "Ah, you must be the owner of this youthful shop!"

"Hahaha, indeed I am. I feel honored to have Konoha's number one taijutsu expert visit my humble establishment," the fat boy complimented with a smile. If Adult Kenji's memories where to be believed then the man in front of him was one of, if not the most, powerful shinobi currently in the village. As such, he made sure to give as much respect as possible, "I am Kenji Yamamoto."

Gai looked taken aback at the complement and as he rubbed the back of his neck while trying to look humble, "Ah, I wouldn't say I'm the best taijutsu master."

'… I didn't say that.' "Please no need to be modest, it is well known even to someone like myself that Maito Gai is the best taijutsu master in the entire village," Kenji went on causing the person in question to gain a dash of red on his cheeks before trying to compose himself, no doubt he was unused to people normally complementing him.

"Cough. Well I-I suppose I have heard that once or twice," the man said as he stood up to his full height trying to look more heroic in front of the four-foot-tall youth.

Kenji nodded in affirmation, now that he had buttered him up, he could ease him into business. "If you don't mind me asking Mr. Gai, what brings you here? After all, I am just a humble store owner, I doubt I have much to offer someone of your skills, if your reputation is anything to go by."

The green clad man's ear twitched at that before trying and failing to come off as nonchalant, "Oh they talk about me? What do they saw exactly?"

With a mental eye-roll Kenji started spouting some more compliments, "They tell of the Green Beast that has a body made of steel, whose mere fist can turn even the toughest of boulders into nothing but dust. A man, who's speed is like that of wind, so fast that it seems like he disappeared without a trace. They say that his mere presence and youthful demeanor is enough to change the outcome of any battle, uplifting allies while intimidating the enemy… or at least that is what the people say."

Gai had nodded his head throughout his entire speak as if confirming it to himself, before snapping his eyes open and throwing a combination of punches to the side and looking up at the sky, "Yosh! You hear that Kakashi! I am just as famous as you! I shall challenge you the next time we meet!"

This time Kenji couldn't help but the eyeroll, not that anyone else could see with his fox like eyes.

Gai snapped his eyes to the small boy that was waiting patiently, and his smile grew even more brighter until Kenji could see a twinkle, "It is true young boy, I am Maito Gai, the Green Beast of Konoha. You appear to be a fan, how about an autograph."

A sweat drop formed on the back of the chubby boy's head when he saw the excited look and stars shine in the grown man's eyes when he thought that Kenji was a fan, "Haha, perhaps later. Didn't you need something Mr. Gai?"

"Huh? Oh yes, how could I forget!?" Gai said as he regained himself. "Cough. I came here in search of some training equipment? A friend recommended this place?"

'Finally,' the small merchant said now that they were finally back on familiar territory.

"I see, I see! Of course, I have some training equipment for sale! Did you have anything specific in mind or would you like to see a little of everything?"

Putting on a thinking pose, Gai gave him a considering look before taking out a scroll and placing it on the table. With a single hand gesture, he unsealed a large stack of money, "I would like to see a little bit of everything! Money is no issue to those who travel on the road of self-improvement!" 'How was that?' Gai thought as he took a careful peek at the small boy's reaction to his 'wise' words.

Kenji was half paying attention as his eyes were glued to the money, '200 ryo bills stacked in groups of 100. Fifteen stacks with a few loose bills comes out to 398,760 ryo!' In that simple gesture, Kenji's already existing respect for the man grew to an all time high, rivaling that of the Daimyo's wife and Tsume Inuzuka.

"Of course, Master Gai. Your legendary training is well known even to me, I will do my outmost to meet your requirements," Kenji said with a bow as he signaled for them to walk inside.

Gai misinterpreted the awed look on Kenji's face and sealed the ryo back into the scroll as he walked inside, trying to maintain his image of wise master in front of the small boy.

Disregarding everything that was in display, Kenji went into his room and took out the very best of his training equipment from his bag.

Gai, who was inspecting some nunchakus, saw him return and placed them back on the rack.

Together they walked into an open space in the clearing, which by now looked like it had been taken from the middle of a war zone.

Taking the first of the items from the stack, Kenji began. "I will start with this little piece I'm sure you are familiar with." He held up a green jumpsuit identical to the one that Gai was wearing, the only difference were the black racing strips down the sides and a small logo with a picture of a man on the back of the collar, showing that it was a human grade artifact.

 **Green Jumpsuit +12**

 **Quality: Mid-human**

 **Defense: 230**

 **\+ 900**

 **10+: Incoming ninjutsu damage is reduced by half.**

 **12+: Can increase gravity around the user up to 10 times as much. Radius is 5 feet. (User is not excepted from this.)**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 450**

"This jumpsuit looks remarkably like my own," Gai commented as he took the jumpsuit that was offered to him.

'That's because I bought it from the same place you buy yours,' Kenji remarked mentally. Despite it's less than fashionable taste, the jumpsuit was made of a durable material that could withstand harsh battle conditions.

"Yes, well moving on. This training suit is actually tough enough to withstand most weapons. Any damage from ninjutsu based attacks will only be half as effective. But the key feature I want to show is its ability to generate a sphere five feet in radius around the user, that is capable of increasing the gravity up to 10 times its normal weight. The user is also affected by the increase in gravity, so it makes a great training tool especially combined with weights.," Kenji went on.

"Yosh, I'll take it!" Gai shouted.

"Perfect but let me demonstrate the rest of my wares before you make your decision," Kenji said as he took another item from the pile.

This item was a wooden training dummy that had been freshly polished. Kenji had found it in a trash bin behind one of the martial arts dojo's in the village. After fixing it up and giving it a fresh coat of paint, he had upgraded it.

During this, he had discovered something new about his ability. While he never knew what type of special ability the items he upgraded would get until the end, he did see a pattern start to form. While quality decided how far it could be upgraded, past actions and lingering intentions could influence the item too.

The wooden dummy for example had been made for the intention of being a sparing partner. Countless martial artist had trained with it hours on end, trying to better themselves, pour countless emotions into it with every punch, kick, or throw. In the end, the dummy had those very intentions engraved in it's very being. Kenji supposed that this was the 'Kami' that the monk had spoken about.

 **Copy-cat Dummy +12**

 **Quality: Mid-human**

 **Defense: 500**

 **Attack: 400**

 **\+ 800 Defense**

 **\+ 600 Attack**

 **10+: Mimics the user's fighting style, able to combine and replicate all manner of attacks, including ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu and kenjutsu.**

 **12+: Strength, defense, and speed is always higher than its opponent.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 500**

"This training dummy, for example is a mid-human grade chakra artifact."

"Mid-human chakra artifact?" Gai said with a confused look, unfamiliar with the term.

"Yes, it is the highest level of equipment I have been able to make so far. Artifacts are far different from any ordinary object you can find in the world. Take this dummy for example, it might look ordinary, but it contains two special abilities," Kenji said taking a lecture like pose as he placed the man shaped piece of wood standing upright. **(A/N: It looks like a wooden version of Sonny from 'I, Robot' if that helps.)**

"The first of its abilities, is that it can replicate all types of fighting including any physical and chakra-based techniques. The second, is that it will always be a little bit faster, tougher, and stronger than its opponent. Just add chakra to activate," Kenji, said as he stepped back. The first time he activated the dummy, he was unprepared and got his ass royally handed to him.

"Alright!" Gai cheered as he stood up to the dummy that was roughly his size. It looked just like a wooden mannequin with clenched fists. Placing a hand on its chest he poured a minute amount of chakra.

The dummies eyes flashed blue, and the next thing Gai knew, he had a wooden fist in his face.

'Yeah, I hate when that happens,' Kenji commented as he watched the green dressed man bounce off the ground.

Standing back up a smile, Gai wiped the small amount of blood from the edge of his nose, "Ho. It looks like this thing packs quite a punch!"

Taking the stance for the Goken, the dummy was quick to copy it.

At an unspoken signal they disappeared, leaving only clouds of dust behind.

They were too fast for someone like Kenji to see, but he could still see the after effects, mainly because random patches of dirt kept disappearing for no reason, and he could feel the shockwaves from the impact.

"Kyaa!" Kenji screamed when a patch of earth only a few inches away from his foot exploded.

Reaching into his robes, he took out a yellow orb the size of a tennis ball and threw it randomly in the air.

 **Sticky Foam Bomb +10**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Defense: 0**

 **+400**

 **10+: Unbreakable growing foam that restricts the movements of targets no matter how strong they are.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 30**

As he expected someone broke the plastic capsule containing the foam, coating the person in question in the sticky substance.

"What the?" Gai said as he brought a hand toward the batch of foam rapidly growing on his green jumpsuit. When he tried to pull it back, he found that it was firmly stuck to the foam almost as if it were incased in concrete.

The dummy however decided to take advantage of the opening and shot a fist into Gai's abdomen only to get stuck as well.

The jonin tried to put chakra into his muscles to pull out his hand, but that only made things worse as the yellow foam exploded outward until it covered his entire torso, making him fall down to the ground. He tried to struggle but it slowly incased his body until only his face was visible.

Now that he was sure that he wouldn't accidentally get his head smashed in, Kenji took out a small squirts bottle from its hiding space and walked over to them.

"Sorry about that Master Gai, but you were getting a little too into the fight. Here, this is a solution that dissolves the foam," the small boy said as he started to spray the foam directly.

"Hahaha! Think nothing of it my youthful friend! It's been a while since I fought someone that could match me blow for blow, I suppose I got carried away!" the eccentric man said with a wide smile, his teeth twinkling in the sunlight.

The foam dissolved rapidly into nothing thanks to the solution and the man was freed in an instant. "Fantastic. How much for him Kenji-kun?" Gai said as he stared passionately at the wooden dummy that had gone limp from inactivity.

'Kenji-kun again?' "Well, as you can tell its capabilities are second to none and its ability to grow with its owner means you will never have to waste a single ryo on another dummy ever again. It was made from the best materials and the crafting process was both intricate and time-consuming, as such it is no surprise that it will be a little expense compared to my other products," Kenji said as he began to prod and show the excellent craftmanship on the dummy, all the while Gai was nodding with his eyes closed.

"Yosh! It is as you say Kenji-kun! Such a youthful training partner would no doubt be expensive! But fear not, for I have plenty of money, and determined to take him with me," The man said with fire in his eyes, as he took out three identical scrolls from his pack and unsealed them, showing that he had more money than Kenji had first assumed.

Gai gave him a thumbs up, while an artificial sunset shown in the back, giving him a golden aura. Kenji nearly swooned from all that money and had too close his eyes to not be blinded by the sun, 'Kya! So handsome! Is this what they call a rich person aura!'

'Lets see, 40,000 ryo should be enough right?' "Umm. Well then I suppose I can part with him, for 4-" the merchant began to say only to be cut off mid-sentence.

"Let me guess, 400,000 ryo right!? Such magnificent training equipment would no doubt cost at least that much!" the man shouted as he began to gather the amount mentioned from the pile.

"-Right you are Master Gai! Unbelievable, you guessed the exact amount, as expected of someone of your renowned reputation! Let me just write a receipt and I will hand him over at once," the greedy academy student said as his hands flashed inside of his robes and he took out a receipt pad from out of nowhere.

"Yosh, I think I will call him Tree-kun. What do you think Kenji-kun!?" Gai said as he stared warmly at his new training partner.

'I don't care if you give it a wig, and call it your girlfriend, just pay me first!' "I think that is a wonderful name Master Gai, it suits him," Kenji said with a smile even as he shoved the receipt into his face so that he could sign.

Gai gave him the money agreed upon and signed the receipt without a problem.

'My preccciousss!' Kenji thought as he gently rubbed the stack of money that was now his.

"Yosh! Now he's complete, don't you think so Kenji-kun?" Gai said as he moved aside to show the newly named Tree-kun, that was now dressed in an identical green jumpsuit with orange leg warmers.

Truth be told, Kenji was glad to finally be rid of that training dummy ever since he found it standing over him in the middle of the night. He had come close to shitting himself when he saw that unsettling grin, which should not have been there, looking down at him. When he had sprung out of bed, he had threatened to turn it into splinters, before tying it up in chains and sticky foam, then shoving it into the darkest parts of his backpack.

With a weak smile Kenji replied, "Yes, it suits him quite nicely. But perhaps we should go back to looking at the rest of the equipment."

"Ah! Of course, how could I forget!" Gai roared once he remembered exactly what they had been doing before. "By the way, what exactly was that foam from earlier?" he asked now that he had time to think.

Taking another one of those yellow capsules from the depth of his robes, Kenji was happy to elaborate, "I like to call them Sticky Bombs. It's filled with a foam like substance that activates when exposed to air, and continuously grows bigger by sucking away the captured person's chakra. It sticks to any substance making escape with brute force impossible and its elastic nature makes it difficult to tear or damage, the only way to get rid of it is a special solution I carry with me. By the way, these aren't for sale just yet."

Actually, there were a number of ways to get rid of the foam, like burning it with chakra-less fire or exposing it with salt water just to name a few. Since elemental jutsu contained chakra, it would just make it worse.

Also, despite calling it a bomb, it was actually an elixir that he had placed inside brittle see-through plastic snow globes. The ingredients needed to make them were a little more expensive, so he could only make a few, but he made sure to place one globe in every single earth clone manning the shop. If they were ever to be attacked by a customer or someone else, then the orb would activate and spray the offending party in the sticky foam. He kept the very best for himself after all.

"A shame, I have no doubt it would make a great training item! With it, I could strap a boulder to my back and climb the cliffs without the need for chakra!" Gai said passionately, as he clenched his fist and cried rivers of tears at the missed opportunity of such a great workout.

"Righty-oh then, moving on. The next piece I want to show you is this," Kenji said as he took out a green pill from a glass jar, that gave off a powerful smell of medicine.

 **(Low) Body Purifying Pill**

 **Quality: Low Human**

 **+Gets rid of any outside impurities from the body.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: N/A**

"As shinobi who specialized in taijutsu, your body is your greatest weapon. Correct?" Kenji asked the man as he listened carefully.

"It is true, the body of a shinobi is their greatest weapon. It does not matter what great a weapon you have if you are unable to wield it," he said with a serious face that was a stark contrast to the normally goofy one he had on.

"Correct! And despite how we try, there will always be flaws that we can never fix inside ourselves. What this pill does, is expel impurities found in the body, I call it ummm- The Green Phoenix Pill!" Kenji made up on the spot.

"The Green Phoenix Pill," Gai looked at the pill in awe, by now he had gotten a good estimate of the quality of the boy's products if the dummy and the foam bomb were anything to go on.

"I recommend taking only one, since it will be more than enough," Kenji said as he placed it back in the jar, then took out a new pill. It was a shiny grey ball that looked like a metal barring.

 **(Low) Muscle Recovery Pill**

 **Quality: Low Human**

 **+Heals and strengthens ripped muscle fibers in seconds.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: N/A**

"This is the Iron Tiger Pill, it heals and strengths destroyed muscle fibers without the need for medical chakra. It should be useful for someone that uses your particular fighting style," Kenji explained.

"Now the best for last. I give you this, the Ox Talisman!" Kenji said as he proudly showed off the talisman.

 **Kaguya's Ox Talisman**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **\+ Strength steady increases proportionally to the time spent training but begins to rapidly decline once stopped training.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 20**

"This is a single use talisman. Once activated, your strength will gradually increase the longer you train. However, you should be aware that it is just temporary and once you stop training, this strength will begin to fade. I recommend using this before a large battle. As they say, hard work can never betray you."

Kenji had already tested one himself. He trained for an hour, and his strength increase to the point where he could rip trees with his bare hands, but it only lasted five minutes. They gave him no real benefits anyways, so he might as well sell them to someone who could find a use for them.

"I'll take it!" Gai said excitedly.

Kenji was unable to hold back the shark like grin when he heard those words. "Perfect. Let me just ring you up."

 **Green Jumpsuit +12**

 **1x Phoenix Pill**

 **5x Tiger Pill**

 **3x Ox Talisman**

The total was around 165,000 Ryo.

Right now, Kenji was on cloud nine as he placed the money in his iron safe, that was decked out with many different kinds of traps and safeguards.

Now that business was finally taken care of, Kenji could focus on something he had been curious about. "Master Gai, if you don't mind, could I ask you some questions about taijutsu."

Gai, wanting to appear as the wise master he thought Kenji saw him as, nodded sagely, "Of course, Kenji-kun! If I am able to raise your flames of youth, I will answer all of your questions!"

Kenji tried not to flinch back at the shinny smile and thumbs up directed at him. 'Rock Lee, I can't wait until you become his student. Otherwise I fear he will try to get me into one of those ridiculous jumpsuits or try to shave my head into a bowl cut.'

Snapping his fingers, an earth clone began to prepare a quick meal for them. "Please, this way Master Gai, I would like to talk as we eat. I hope you don't mind having a meal with me."

"No, no, no, I was just getting hungry myself," Gai said to the plump boy.

They sat around the marble table outside drinking some tea as they waited for their meal, Akame was taking a nap on a pillow placed on another chair.

"So, what was it that you wanted to ask Kenji-kun?"

"Seeing as you are the leading expert in this field Master Gai, what can you tell me about the eight gates?" Kenji inquired as his eyes sharped.

Taken off guard, Gai put on a serious expression for once, "You aren't thinking off opening them by yourself, are you?"

The academy student waved him off, "No, no, I don't want to know how to open them. What I want to know is exactly what are they?"

Gai looked like was going to say something before he stopped himself. "Alright, if it's that much it should be fine. Tell me, what do you know about the chakra pathway system?"

"I know the basics. It helps to regulate the chakra in our bodies through a network of vein like pathways that work just like our cardiovascular system. All the books I've read on the subject also state that it is this very system that is in charge of collecting all of the raw energy from our cell and depositing it into our chakra reserves, located in our abdomens, where it will mix with our spiritual energies to form chakra. The chakra points act as doors, either blocking chakra or letting it flow depending on the situation," Kenji stopped to look up at the jonin's face that hadn't changed from the serious expression.

"The hand seals we use for chakra techniques are a set of gestures that can close and open some of these chakra points located in place that we normal couldn't control like our heads or our backs. Different combinations of hand seals can determine the number of tenketsu opened as well as which exact one from the 361 we have in our bodies, almost as if we were inputting a code. The more times we perform a jutsu, the more our chakra network remember which sequence of points need to be opened and closed, which in turn makes it possible to reduce the number of seals needed to perform the jutsu. It is theorized that it would be possible to perform a jutsu with no hand seals if we could control the closing and opening of all of these points consciously instead of subconsciously, but none have been able to do it," Kenji finished as he took a sip of his tea to quench his parched throat. 'Not even the famed Hyugas, who boast the best chakra control in the village, have been able to manage that. The closest they've come is to expel chakra from every point in their bodies but never close and open them with just their mind.'

The bowl haired man nodded in affirmation, "It is just as you say, Kenji-kun. To open or close these points consciously without hand seals would be no different than forcing your pancreas to secrete insulin into your bloodstream whenever you demanded. Even though our bodies are able to do things like making blood or digesting food, we are never consciously aware of it because many of these functions are run on autopilot. Hand seals provide a way around this, by tricking our chakra pathways, just like how medicine does the same to our bodies."

'I already knew this. If everyone could open and close them whenever they wanted, then why use hand seals at all,' Kenji thought. "So my question is, what are the eight gates, and what is there purpose in all of this."

Taking a paper and a pen from his jacket, Gai drew an outline of the person with eight different points. "The gates are chakra tenketsu that are left out from the normal chakra pathway system. When people talk of 'opening' the gates, what they really mean by that is connecting these chakra points back into the chakra system. However, there are reasons why it is considered dangerous to open even one of these gates."

The small boy was giving his outmost attention as this was exactly what he wanted to know ever since he saw Kenji A's memories. Even Akame who was faking being asleep had one ear trained on Gai.

"The first thing to note, is that the gates, unlike the rest of the tenketsu, are always open. Many that have tried to use the Eight Gates died because they were only able to make the initial connection but either didn't know how or couldn't cut it off in time and had their entire chakra reserves drained in mere minutes," Gai spoke sadly as he stared at the table.

'So if you aren't able to sever the connection, you risk the danger of having your entire chakra leak out almost like a water balloon that has a hole in it. The more I hear of these gates, the more dangerous they sound.'

Composing himself, Gai went on, "The next thing that you should be aware of is that these gates are responsible for the autonomic nervous system which regulate things like heart rate, respiratory rate, pupilar response, digestion, etc. Opening one will force your body into overdrive and these functions will work beyond what is safe."

Taking the pen, he pointed to the first of the gates on the diagram that was located in the head, "For example, the first of these gates is the Gate of Opening. Now normally the brain restricts 80% of the total strength in our muscles so that we don't accidently rip and tear them when we do something as simple as jumping but opening this gate would give the person 100 % of this power. The person would need to work extremely hard to control this new strength as well as understand their body's limits, so they don't accidentally rip a necessary muscle or tendon."

"That makes sense I suppose, I had some suspicion that it had to be something like that," Kenji remarked. From the memories of the show it always looked like Rock Lee and Gai were performing superhuman feats. To be frank, this was the perfect taijutsu for someone like Lee, that was always pushing past his bodies limits.

"The next gate is the Gate of Healing, which is also located in the brain, however contrary to the name, it doesn't actually heal the body. What it actually does is two things, first it floods our bodies with a steady stream of never-ending adrenaline, numbing the pain from the first gate. It then forces the mitochondria in our cells to burn almost all of the glucose stored in our blood system to make more energy," Gai confessed shocking Kenji greatly.

'Damn, now I know why it's considered a forbidden technique. You are literally butchering yourself every single time you use one of these gates,' Kenji thought with a grimace. "Going from what you told me so far, I'm guessing that the next gate, the Gate of Life has something to do with the heart."

The jonin nodded, "Yes, it is just as you guessed, the Gate of Life, located in the spine, removes the restrictions that control our heart rates and in turn the heart will increase blood flow. The skin on the user will usually steam and turn red at this point from a combination of blood pressure and overheating cause by the mitochondria."

"So you are risking a heart attack every time you use this gate is what you are saying," the small boy concluded. The heart could only take so much stress after all and unlike muscles and bones, it couldn't be trained or hardened. "I never new the gates had such a dark secret."

Gai hesitantly asked, "Should I stop?"

Kenji shook his head, he wanted to know the rest.

He opened his eyes to their fullest, showing twin pools of amber and spoke in the most serious voice he could manage from a ten-year-old body, "Please, go on. I want to know everything."

Like that, the afternoon was spent. Kenji learned everything there was to know about the gates without actually experiencing them himself.

Standing up from his seat, he walked in front of Gai, then he gave a 90 degree bow, "Thank you."

"Huh?" Gai said as he hadn't expected that.

"It seems I was not wrong about you Master Gai. This noble persona of yours- this willingness to sacrifice yourself for your teammates and your village, I don't think I will ever meet someone that is more fit for the title of Shinobi. On behalf of everyone in the village that you have protected I want to say… thank you!" Kenji spoke with as much gratitude as he could manage while staring down at the floor.

The show had always made Gai and Lee seem like such comedic characters that it was easy to forget that they used a forbidden fighting technique every day, that they willingly risked death and permanent injury just to improve themselves in the hopes of not being left behind.

Sob.

Glancing upward, Kenji was treated to an ugly expression as Gai had tears stream down his eyes and snot dripping from his nose.

"Kenji."

"Master Gai?"

"Kenji."

"M-master Gai?" replied Kenji hesitantly as he started to see imaginary waves form behind the man.

"Kenji!"

In the blink of an eye, Gai had wrapped him in a bear hug.

"Gahh!" Kenji yelped when he felt the tears and snot on his cheeks. With a quick hand seal he substituted with a nearby earth clone.

Wiping his cheeks clean he made to excuse himself, "You know what, let me check on our meals, they should have been done by know." 'Actually that's a good question, just what exactly has that clone been doing this entire time?'

* * *

 **A/N: Done.**

 **So first things off, I want to take a moment to explain a little more on the gates.**

 **To me, it always made sense that the gates where connected to the autonomic nervous system since it needed to be something that Rock Lee could use while at the same time being a physical change that the sharingan couldn't copy.**

 **I tried to explain it in the most logical way possible, which was hard since it is a fictional ability, but maybe one day Kishimoto will give a real explanation of the gates. This will also form the foundation of Kenji's cultivation.**

 **Sorry if it was too short, but I didn't want to overload my readers with too many unfamiliar terms.**

 **If you have a better explanation I would love to hear them. (PM me)**

 **By the way, if you haven't guessed it yet. Many of the chakra artifacts get their world changing abilities from taking nearby nature energy. That's why the dummy (Tree-kun) only need a tiny amount of chakra to activate, the rest of its energy was supplied from the nature. That being said, the dummy will become inactive if it can't fight its opponent.**

 **The Sticky bombs were something I thought off when I was watching the movie 'Incredibles'.**

 **Also, before anyone asks. No, Kenji will not be Gai's student.**

 **Thanks for reading.**


	8. Bear Brothers

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references you notice in this fanfic.**

 **A/N: So let me start off this chapter by answering some more questions.**

 **So, first, Gai wasn't sent by the Hokage. It was just a lucky encounter.**

 **Also what I meant by seal-less jutsu is closer to what Kaguya and the Sage of Six Paths, who can create and perform jutsu without even moving.**

 **Kenji at the end of this chapter is at genin level, skill wise. With the various upgraded equipment, he is a high-genin to low- chunin, just because he is plain trick, and no one really knows what he can do.**

 **Also, I want to give a shout out to 'sumitparida2002'. I changed the chakra levels to something more reasonable. The new power levels are at the bottom of the chapter.**

 **Chapter 8**

It was with watery eyes that Kenji looked back at the training ground that used to be the location of his temporary shop.

He had his yellow backpack strapped tight to his back, weighing close to 2 tons, an impossible feat that Kenji was only able to pull off thanks to the two rings on each hand that boosted his strength. Akame dressed in her Miko outfit, sat securely on his head, likely her way of her showing her superiority.

"It's great that I was able to make so much profit, but I'm pretty sure I'll never be able to get permission for another training ground," he huffed at the unfairness of it all.

He had made close to 7 million ryo in his time in these two weeks, taking away the material costs and the new additions, his profit had been somewhere between 5 to 6 million.

From the research he had done previously, a prime piece of land located in Konoha's business district cost somewhere between 4-5 million ryo to rent out for two years. The location was on the main street that was on a straight line between the village gate and the Hokage Tower, which insured that many tourist and merchants would see it right away. While this would normally be an idle spot, Kenji was reluctant to waste all his hard-earned money and effort building up a prosperous business just for it to be flattened by Pein later.

No, instead he was much more interested in finding a nice piece of land on the outer edge of the village, preferably near the wall, and build his shop. Then he could just spend the next few years preparing and fortifying his base.

A few weeks back he had scouted out different pieces of land and found that an old couple were planning on selling a section of their farm land, so they could afford to send their son to a renowned school in the capital. The piece was roughly 1.5 acres (43,560 ft^2) and the asking price was only 2,000,000. He had already met them, and made his intentions of buying the land, and while they were a little reluctant on doing business with a ten-year-old at first, he explained that he was in the academy and would be a genin before summer. He was able to extract a promise from them that, they wouldn't sell the land until the end of June. It normally wouldn't have been that easy, but the land in question was barren with the only other buyers being their bitter next-door neighbors.

'If I buy the land, that leaves me with 3-4 million ryo to construct my shop/home, pay for the different licenses, and materials needed for my products. If I can tighten my belt and cut back on a few expensive I'm sure I can probably make it,' he thought as he turned away from the destroyed land that was littered with battle scars.

The lone academy student was already making a budget plan, now that his sole source of income was no longer possible, he needed to spend his money wisely. The risks of selling illegally in the village without a license were nothing to scoff at, and he would much rather do things by the books than lose everything just to make a few measly ryo.

He waved at the chunin manning the gate and was happy when they waved back. That meant that they already recognized him and wouldn't ask as many questions whenever he needed to leave the village for errands.

Walking down the main road, Kenji was treated to the sound of lively villagers enjoying their time around the village.

Kids were playing, running around with wooden weapons. Friends were greeting each other and making conversation right in the middle of the street before going to one of the many food stalls. A few couples walked hand in hand giggling to each other like a bunch of idiots. Shinobi off all different ranks monopolized the rooftops as their shadows would briefly flash on the ground when they jump from building to building. The village was always busy, there was always something new to discover, somewhere new to explore, and Kenji loved every bit of it.

Every since his creation, he was determined to experience everything that life had to offer. The reason for the shop, the training, and the planning was all for this purpose.

After Gai's visit, Kenji had thrown himself even further into training. The reason for this wasn't some misguided feeling of motivation caused by the taijutsu master's sense of sacrifice, no, the reason was fear. He was scared witless after his talk with Gai. He had forgotten just how dangerous shinobi could be. Gai was willing to risk his life and health just so he could complete his mission, so who was to say that Kenji wouldn't eventually meet an enemy ninja with exactly the same mindset. What if they had a secret technique that was similar to the Eight Gates? He would be a goner for sure, no matter how fast he ran or how strong his armor was.

It was with this realization, that the chubby academy student had spent every waking moment training to be a little bit faster or just a little bit tougher than the day before. He consumed enhancement pill after pill, abusing them for all of their worth, just to feel a little safer.

He took a step back from chakra control and instead focused on taijutsu and body enhancement jutsu. His next goal was to work on his elemental techniques, mainly the **Hiding like a Mole Jutsu** that let him escape underground and travel like a mole. Kenji also hoped that with a little practice, he could also use it to mine for metal ore and gems.

He didn't know his chakra nature, since chakra paper was an item restricted to only shinobi, so instead he practiced with every single one of them, so even if they weren't his natural chakra element at least he was building an affinity for them.

Sniff. Sniff. GRrrr.

"Look Akame, it's your favorite," the small boy said as they turned to a vendor that was selling roasted duck seasoned with a blend of different herbs and spices that enticed the nose, the skin looked nice and crispy with a golden hue.

The rabbit perked up as she sniffed the air, before wagging her fluffy tail in excitement. Yes, Akame was an omnivore despite being a rabbit. Kenji had found that out when he caught her biting the head off a mouse that was trying to steal the chakra dust. While he was initially shocked at this fact, he later welcomed it, since it meant that he could cut back on her feeding expenses now that she could hunt for her own food. Duck was her favorite so far, closely followed by pork.

Checking his wallet, the plump boy swallowed a thick amount of saliva, "I suppose we have enough for just one quick snack."

The bunny nodded her head in total agreement.

"But we would need to tighten our belts for the coming months understand."

Once again Akame nodded in understanding.

"Okay, since it will be our last good meal for a while," Kenji finished as he walked up to the vendor that was slowly turning the spit. "Oy Mister, how much for two ducks?"

"That will be 180 Ryo little man," the vendor said with a wide toothy grin.

"I'll take them," Kenji said as he took the money out of his purse and handed it over to the man that was packing two piping hot roasted ducks into a plastic container, along with some dipping sauce.

Together the duo made their way toward Kenji's apartment completely unaware of the eyes watching them from the shadows.

(Time skip- 1 month)

Huff. Huff. Huff.

'Oh goddess, I'm dying. Please have mercy on this tortured soul and end me right now,' the small academy student mentally pleaded as he collapsed on the running track.

Akame, wearing her miko uniform, bounced to his side with a hand towel and a water bottle strapped to her back.

"Thanks fuzzball," Kenji said in between breaths as he scratched her chin.

Her response was a sharp snapping of her teeth that would have ripped off his fingers if he hadn't pulled away in time.

Laying on his back, Kenji couldn't help but comment, "At least look at the bright side. I didn't throw up this time."

He had completed 500 laps around the academy track field, an impossible feat for him a month ago.

Thanks to all of the exercise and forced dieting he had to go through, Kenji was finally able to burn up all of that fat. Sure he could have done it with the diet pills, but that would mean wasting valuable products for something he could do with old fashion hard work.

Kenji's once large girth was gone, people wouldn't mistake him for a walking dumpling anymore. He was still small for his age however, standing at 4 foot 6, but that was still two inches higher than a month ago. As a result of all of the strengthening pills and purifying pills he had taken, his body was at the peak of health for someone his age, he had a lean build with tightly wound muscle that were much stronger than one would normally guess.

His once scruffy hair, was now a curtain of silky smooth chocolate locks that reached his shoulder blades thanks to the accidental shampoo he had created weeks ago. He kept it in a low loose ponytail since it kept getting in the way of his training. His usual fox like eyes had turned almond shaped as a result of getting rid of all of the fat around his face, showing off his hazel eyes perfectly. His skin was as smooth and soft as a newborn thanks to all of the testing he need to do for his new line of beauty creams and products.

However, most of these improvements were normally hidden from everyone's eyes as he wore extra padding and armor underneath his clothes at all times, only taking it off when he needed to bath or sleep.

The reason for this was simple, he wanted his shinobi and civilian appearance to be as contradictory as possible. He didn't want to constantly have to look over his shoulder in fear that an enemy shinobi holding a grudge wanted to exact their revenge. He wasn't planning on making any big waves in the world, but it was still better to be safe than sorry. Kakashi was a prime example that this could work, no one knew what he looked like under his mask, so if he just wore dark glasses to hide his sharingan and changed his clothes, no one would be able to make the connection.

Plus, despite how well the villagers might look up at the shinobi, there was still a certain stigma that carried over. It wasn't something overly obvious, but it was clear if you observed long enough.

The way that civilians would become guarded. The looks they sent as if to check that the shinobi wouldn't pull an 'Itachi' and start killing everyone. Frankly, it was hard for them to trust someone that could easily kill others for money, something that Kenji understood very well. He really needed to find a mask when he started going on missions.

Finished catching his breath, Kenji stood up and dumped the rest of the water over his head.

"Ahhhh! I needed that. Come on girl, we still have things to do it we want to eat today," the small academy student said as he focused on the featureless black ebony ring in his right hand.

This was a much better version of the space ring that he had sold to Lady Shijimi.

 **Onyx Ring +12**

 **Quality: Mid-Human**

 **Defense: 0**

 **\+ 50 Agility**

 **10+: Can hold up to 1,000 cubic feet of matter inside (10x10x10 cube). Objects inside weigh nothing and can be taken out instantly.**

 **12+: 50% increase to arm strength.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 300**

He saw a room filled with all manner of equipment and supplies, organized by shape and size. In an instant, the sweat stained clothes were replaced with a set of brown leather pants, a green tunic, and a hard boiled leather vest. Then the boy equipped a simple wooden short-bow and a quiver full of arrows.

"Let's go Akame! We worked so hard to get that hunter's license, we might as well use it," the boy called out as he began to head toward the village gate.

(Scene change)

'Breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out, release.'

Thunk!

"Alright!" the small boy said as he jumped off the tree branch thirty feet above the ground and landed softly on the forest floor. "Oh boy, looks like we'll be having pork tonight Akame!"

With excited grins, the duo crossed the distance in a few bound steps.

He stood beside the large boar that was easily twice his height and at least 15 times his weight. It had a thick black hide with powerful muscles all over its body, and two upward curving tusks that where at least the length of Kenji's forearm. However despite its impressive appearance, it had only taken a single arrow to bring it down.

Kenji could still see the end of the arrow's feathers peaking out of the newly made hole right in the middle of its head. Weaving some hand seals Kenji called out the medical diagnostic jutsu that he had learned from Hana's scrolls.

His hands gained a green light, and he checked the monster boar, "Oh, how lucky. It looks like the arrow managed to burrow deep enough that it completely severed its spinal cord. As expected of this bow."

 **Wooden Bow +10**

 **Quality: Low-human**

 **Attack: 130**

 **+400**

 **10+: 10% of getting a critical hit on a successful attack.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 140**

While it wasn't his most powerful bow, it was definitely the best one for hunting game.

Taking out an upgraded knife from his space ring, he began the troublesome job of dismantling the carcass for anything useful.

Akame didn't bother waiting as she was already in the process of chewing on the still attached ear of the boar.

First, he tied it upside down from two tree branches and made a cut on its neck, letting the blood drain into a large bucket below. Kenji carefully skinned it, detaching the tough hide from the precious meat with expert precision. Making a large incision on its belly, he took out a separate bowl and began to remove the organs. Once all of that was finished, he began to cut it into sections of meat, that he knew the butcher would take. Putting everything in his space ring, he was finally left with just the head.

Grabbing the tusks in both hands, he placed a soft leather boot on the snout and pulled. The hard bone gave out easily and now Kenji was left standing with two sharp bone tusks. "Hmmm, what do you think I should make from these Akame. Knives? Arrow heads? A Viking helmet?"

Akame wasn't even giving him the time of day, as she sniffed the air before her attention went to one tree in particular.

'Looks like we'll be having more than just boar,' Kenji thought as he readied his bow and signaled Akame to get on his head.

The small rabbit nudged her foot twice against his head, indicating there were two potential enemies. Her ears then rotated twice, to show the direction they were at, as well as the distance.

Trusting his partner, Kenji notched the first arrow and prepared the second one. In one fluid movement he released the first arrow while his fingers reached out to his quiver and grabbed the second one, placing it on the string and releasing it a second after.

The two arrows flew side by side, filled with killing intent. They easily punched holes through the trees before hitting their intending target.

Kenji heard two twin roars of anger indicating that the arrows hadn't been enough to kill them in one shot.

He didn't have time to worry however because he heard the sound of trees being snapped apart the next second. Running toward a particularly tall tree that had a thick trunk, he began to use the tree walking technique to reach a branch 40 feet off the ground.

From his new position he could see two burly animals run in his directions, reducing thick trees into splinters whenever they came into contact.

They reached his position in seconds, before they both stood up on two legs and Kenji momentarily had to curse himself and Akame.

Below him were two enraged 12-foot bears, a brown and black bear. Worse, he could see fuinjutsu-like marking on their fur, similar to those on Akame. These were obviously mutated animals and if there was one thing he learned from Akame, it was to never underestimate an animal juiced up on chakra dust.

He was about to make a hasty retreat when the bears suddenly looked in his direction. Kenji could see the two arrows stuck in their fur, the same arrows that had one shot-ed that boar and those trees hadn't even made it an inch in.

"Aw fudge-nuggets," Kenji spoke out loud.

Betraying their size, the two bears were able to reach his position with a single leap, causing Kenji's eyes to open in shock.

One of the bears swiped downward with its sharp dagger like claws, aiming at his head, while the other aimed at his feet.

Kenji could immediately tell that those attacks were chakra enhanced from the blue shine that they gave out, getting hit with even one of those could prove fatal.

He substituted himself with a log, covered in explosive tags, at the last second.

Reappearing on a different tree a fair distance away, he observed as the two chakra beasts were ingulfed in a large fiery explosion that turned the surrounding trees into cinders.

The academy student didn't have to wait long however as two beings emerged from the smoke and landed on the trunks of the surrounding trees, using their claws to cling onto the surface of the trees. They roared at him in challenge, and Kenji could feel them building up their chakra for an attack.

"I'm blaming you for this Akame," Kenji stated even as he strapped his bow on his back and took out a short sword from his ring and handed her an upgraded dagger that looked like two elongated kunai fused together by their handles and wrapped in leather. She placed it in her mouth even as she gave an annoyed huff.

 **Double Edged Dagger +10**

 **Quality: Low-human**

 **Attack: 300**

 **+510**

 **10+: A chakra blade extends from the two blades, length is proportional to the chakra added. Does twice the original damage.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 240**

The blade of the sword was completely red, with the cross guard and handled being gold plated.

 **Sword of Plague +12**

 **Quality: Mid-human**

 **Attack: 480**

 **+870**

 **10+: Cuts caused by the blade will not heal as quickly, causing bloodletting.**

 **12+: Stab wounds have a 25% chance to inflict the poison effect on targets.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 500**

"Get ready," he said to the rabbit.

The bears gave one final roar before chakra exploded from them. The brown bear's eyes were ingulfed in flames and smoke was raising from it's nose and mouth, looking as if it had turned into a furnace. The black bear on the other hand gained an aura of sharp wind around it's paws.

They pulled back their heads in unison and spat out a fire ball and wind sphere respectively in his direction.

Dropping from his position, he took out five talismans from his pouch and used the chakra control exercise to have them orbit his head. Five was his limit while in battle.

 **Kaguya's Shield Talisman**

 **Quality: Low-Human**

 **\+ Forms a semi-transparent shield in front of the target able to block 2000 points of damage. One-time use.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: N/A**

The impact of the attack caused an explosion, flooding the area in smoke.

With out wasting time Kenji formed hands seals.

" **Earth Style Jutsu: Earth Clone**!"

He used 3/10 of his chakra to form 3 clones. He gave them each an upgraded kunai pack as they gave each other nods and split up, "Go! Try to split them up. Aim for their vitals!"

Clone A and B rushed at their opponents, while clone C and Kenji sank into the ground using the **Hiding like a Mole Jutsu**.

The bears proved to be smarter than one would think as they stood back to back, smelling the air and looking at the ground.

Clone A was the first to reach his target.

The brown bear swiped at him with those dangerous looking claws, the clone used his smaller size to duck and get into its guard. Crouching down underneath it, he filled chakra into his legs and jumped upward aiming his kunai into the beast's neck.

At the same time, Clone B ran towards the black bear and slid between the large animal's legs, aiming his kunai at one of the tendons located in the legs.

Neither attack connected however as the brown bear leaned backwards out of reach and the brown bear jumped in the air. Now it was time for their counter attack, as the brown bear used its powerful arm to place Clone A into grapple hold, making sure to dig it's claws into the clone's side. Its partner landed on all four before aiming a wind bullet at Clone B.

The brown bear threw the clone away as it turned around to dodge the arrow aimed at the back of its head.

Out of the ground immerged a barrage of arrows.

It burned them into ash with a fire attack from its mouth, that closely resembled a flamethrower.

The clone took this opportunity to swipe at its neck now that it was distracted despite its sides beginning to crumple into dust.

It connected, managing to make a four-inch-long cut but nothing serious.

It roared in indignation and with blinding speed turned around and grabbed the clone with one hand bit its head clean off. The head immediately turned back to soil, but it was at that instant that the sticky foam ball located in its head exploded. The brown bear's mouth was shut tight. It tried to burn the substance away, but the chakra in the fire only made the foam expand even more, until it sealed its airway, with a small amount leaking from its nose.

Unable to breath, the brown bear suffocated and dropped to the ground in a bone-less heap.

Kenji still underground maneuvered himself under the bear and thrust his sword upward before twisting.

The red blade burst out of the bear's back before sinking back down again. 'There. That should do it. I made sure to aim where the spinal cord should be located.'

The Black roared in rage as it saw his partner be killed.

Its eyes were filled with bloodlust as it charged at Clone B. The sharp wind chakra around its paws expanded until its entire body was covered in razor sharp winds.

Its speed was also boosted by this aura as it disappeared in a burst of speed, reappearing a short distance behind the clone, that now had its entire left side missing. The clone still had a shocked look on his face as it crumpled away.

Another barrage of arrows burst out of the ground, only to be knocked aside by the powerful winds.

The black bear swiped its paw in the direction of the arrows, and from each claw emerged blades of compressed air that dug trenches into the dirt.

Kenji holding the bow burst from his hiding spot just in time to dodge to the side. Another Kenji holding a kunai appeared a distance away.

Placing his bow away, Kenji took out his sword and the talismans appeared around his head once more. The other Kenji wove hand seals before calling out his jutsu, " **Earth Release: Rock Pillar Prison**!"

Tall stone pillars emerged from the ground, scattered around the bear to hinder its movements.

It was still covered in wind so together the two Kenjis nodded and climbed on top of two opposite pillars and went through hand seals in unison.

" **Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"**

Twin balls of fire hit the wind armor of the chakra beast, igniting it on contact.

The bear was soon covered in flames, and unlike it's partner it didn't have any special resistance. The oxygen around it was also used up by the flames robbing it of its breath. With no choice, the bear dismissed its wind armor.

In that instant, Akame struck.

Immerging from her hiding place, she activated her weapon's special ability, and two chakra blades a foot long emerged from each side of her mouth. She leaped towards its legs, the chakra blades did their job as they bit deep into the muscle before she jumped away.

She landed on a stone pillar and used it as a spring board to launch another attack.

Akame became a white blur as she used chakra enhanced hops to jump from pillar to pillar, every time she passed the black bear another rip would appear on its flesh, coating the ground in blood.

The bear roared in anger as it tried to take a swipe at her, but Akame used her superior speed to bounce off the paw and score a critical hit.

This time the beast roared in pain, as it had its eyes slashed open, leaving it blind. It attacked the stone pillars instead of trying to defend itself, crushing them with its powerful claws, forcing Akame to stop her barrage and Kenji and his clone to drop down to the floor.

The bear recognized the smell of his partner's blood coming from the sword and attacked Kenji who was still falling.

"Damn it," Kenji cursed unable to react to the surprise attack.

The bear bit down on his leg, tearing it off completely. He slashed at the bear's head with his sword managing to make a long cut along its snout.

Making the ram hand seal with one hand, he shouted.

"Kai!"

The talismans around his head transformed to show that they weren't talisman at all but paper bombs instead. They detonated at the same time around the pair, engulfing them in a fiery explosion.

The other Kenji watched with batted breath as the smoked cleared. The beast fell backwards, its entire head was burned to a crisp. The Kenji that was also caught in the center of the blast dropped to the ground, missing his upper half. The remain body part turned to dust, showing that it had been the earth clone all along.

"It's a good thing I switched weapons when we were still underground, huh Akame?" the real Kenji commented as he took out an upgraded Kunai and threw it at the bear's head. There was no response. "Looks like it's dead. Why don't you go check Akame? You know, just to make sure?"

The rabbit looked at him as if to say, 'Are you stupid?'

Seeing he would get his way, Kenji decided to take one for the team, but not before slipping a talisman in his palm.

Carefully walking around the rubble caused by the pair, he made his way toward his sword that was blown away from the explosion. Placing the blade close to his eye he inspected it for any cracks or chips, "Looks good. It doesn't appear to be damaged, but I should probably check it later in my workshop."

He walked close to the downed chakra beast and stretching his sword as far as possible.

Poke. Poke.

"Looks like it really is dead. Akame it's safe! How do you feel about a little bear stew?" Kenji shouted as he turned around.

The black bear that had been presumed dead took this chance to gather the last of its energy and formed a wind sphere filled with twirling blades. It stood up to its full height and launched its sneak attack on Kenji's unprotected back.

Just as it looked like it would hit, Kenji turned around and stuck out a hand to intercept the attack. The wind ball detonated with the power of a hurricane, ripping the ground around Kenji like it was nothing, and throwing dust in the air.

When the dust cleared, it showed Kenji completely unharmed, not even his clothes were ruffled. The ground behind him was also left untouched. The shield talisman on his palm turned to dust.

"Ha! As if I would really let down my guard, just because of that," Kenji said as he disappeared from his spot and appeared behind the bear.

The bear didn't even have time to look shocked as its head flew off its shoulders.

'I ain't going to be fooled like team 7 was, screw Zabuza. I won't believe an enemy is dead until I see their head cut off, and even then, I'll still be skeptical. Damn shinobi and their bullshit abilities,' Kenji thought as he performed a medical ninjutsu on the body, just to make sure it was really dead.

"What the?" Kenji said with stupefied tone when he found an anomaly in the bear's body. Taking his sharpest knife from his inventory, he made an incision along its chest. Rolling his sleeves up, he stuck his hand all the way to the shoulder as he rummaged inside until his fingers clutched the giant heart. With a mighty tug, he pulled his hand out of the bear, still holding the heart. "Akame! Get your fluffy butt over here!"

Akame crossed the distance in a single leap.

"Gulp. I-is this what I think it is," Kenji shakily asked, before taking the knife and cutting the heart in half.

Gasp!

Right there, impeded into the flesh was purple sphere like gem, the size of a pearl. It was giving off an immense amount of chakra, "This shouldn't be possible, these aren't supposed to exist, …a spiri- no, a chakra beast crystal. Akame let's check the other bear!"

The brown bear also had a beast crystal inside of its heart.

'So it's true,' Kenji thought, 'The spirit beasts in Kenji A's books are real. Was this caused by me, because I carelessly dumped all of that chakra dust down the bathroom drain?'

"Akame come here, we need to check something?" the small boy said as he stood up from his spot. He placed the two beast crystals in his ring's inventory and strapped the bow and the sword to his back. "Leave the bears, they aren't going anywhere, we'll pick them up on the way back!"

The two disappeared into the forest in the direction of where the bears had come from.

A cat Anbu and a monkey Anbu emerged from their hiding spot.

The cat Anbu took out a scroll and walked toward the two bear carcass and sealed them inside with a puff of smoke. "Monkey, take this to the Hokage immediately. I'll follow the target, he appearance to know about where these creatures came from."

The monkey masked shinobi disappeared in a whirlwind of leaves. The cat anbu took out a camera from her uniform and snapped some pictures of the battleground for evidence later. When she finished taking enough pictures she also disappeared from the area.

"…haha. No way," Kenji laughed humorlessly as he stared at the large sewer pipe that drained into a river. He shook with terror as he saw the river flow into the worst place imaginable, Training Ground 44, the Forest of Death.

"What do you think the chances are that those two bears were the only chakra beasts around?" he said to his partner with a hopeful smile.

Akame gave him a deadpan look that crushed all of that hope into dust.

"Well, at least they can't link this to me, … right? I'm sure this will fix itself sooner or later, … but we should probably make plans to leave Konoha as soon as possible just in case," the boy said with a smile as he turned away from the giant keg bomb he had created.

"Ah! It looks like I accidentally lost my memory of the last 40 minutes Akame. We really should get back to the village and finish selling this boar to the butcher" he declared outload, causing the Cat Anbu in the tree to sweat drop at his pitiful attempt to ignore reality.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Minium chakra points needed to reach this level.**

 **Civilian 5**

 **Academy student 50**

 **Genin 500**

 **Chunin 5,000**

 **Jonin 50,000**

 **Kage 500,000**

 **Tailed beast 1,000,000+**

 **I won't even mention Kaguya or the Ten-tails, just because the number is too high.**

 **Now this isn't perfect, but it is at least decent enough for me to get a clear understanding. Tailed beast have more chakra than just 1,000,000 obviously but I won't get to that until much later into the story.**

 **So again, Kenji is a solid genin level ninja after all those pills enhancers, training, and chakra controls. With the unpredictability of his upgraded tools, he becomes a low chunin at best.**

 **Also just to clarify, the amount of dust that Kenji threw down the drain before thinking of using it to make pills and potions wasn't small. He was literally throwing barrels worth of this stuff. Chunin exams are going to be something else I tell you.**


	9. Preparations

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references in this fanfic**

 **A/N: So first I want to give a quick shout out for those of you that were able to get a glimpse into what my vision was. So yes, the ecosystem is changing, glad some of you were able to piece that together. I will go more into detail in the bottom section of the chapter, but it is something you should keep in mind.**

 **This chapter is sort of to prep you for the upcoming ones and to add a little more worldbuilding. Hope you enjoy.**

 **Chapter 9**

'Come on, just a little more!'

 ***Pant* *Pant***

Kenji grabbed the stone handhold with one hand, before applying chakra to his arm to launch himself vertically up the mountains surface like a bullet.

The shinobi in training shot passed the ledge and landed on top of the Hokage Monument with a soft thud. His exhausted legs buckled on impact and he was forced to his knees. Every breath he took felt like fire, his hands were cut and trembling, and he felt unimaginable pain in his lower body.

 ***Blurg***

He threw up his pitiful excuse of a breakfast all over the ground with tears involuntarily leaking out. Only after emptying his entire stomach was Kenji able to breath properly. He crawled away from the bile and managed a sitting position before reaching into his inner pocket with a trembling hand. Bleeding fingers grabbed a grey pill and brought it towards the boys lips.

Kenji managed to swallow it before he collapsed backwards spread eagle.

It was noon already, and the sun decided to be unbearably hot (that bastard). Without any shade available, he was forced to endure the scorching rays of heat, even as he could feel the muscle fibers he had torn during his workout begin to repair themselves, with his entire body looking like it was quavering. The pill was fast acting, so it should only take 3 minutes at most.

With one final muscle spasm, that caused his leg to give an involuntary kick, his muscles were completely healed, receiving a small boost to their strength in the process. However, this process left him without any energy and the newly constructed muscles were still raw, leaving him sore all over.

"Akame? Are you there?" the poor academy student called out to his best (only) friend. He managed to tilt his head to the side to where she was laying underneath an umbrella. The small rabbit was still unresponsive from the time she had collapsed 40 laps ago, her breath was the only indication that she was still alive.

Kenji hated torturing himself like this, but he didn't have a choice. After finding out that the Forest of Death was probably a breading ground for new Chakra Beasts two months ago, he knew that they needed to step up their game. It was hard enough to fight just two of them, he couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to fight an entire forest.

After returning home, the pintsized ninja had thrown himself into his training, with the same fanatism that came from knowing that his life was in danger, which in this case it was. He devised new training regimen (with Gai's help), began a custom diet centered on strengthening his body, and practically lived in the library researching different subjects that could potential increase his chances of survival.

He had just ran 200 laps around the village's outer wall. The distance between the front gate and the Hokage Monument was 1.6 miles, meaning that just one lap around the village was 5.03 miles. He had been running since dawn, using chakra to enhance his movements as well as the Body Flicker Technique to move faster. Every time he was close to quitting or slowing down, he imagined the chakra beasts and the Akatsuki behind him and would force himself to take another step. He would have collapsed a long time ago if it weren't for all of those pills and elixirs he consumed every day.

Despite all the amazing results he had achieved in just two months, it wasn't without pain. Kenji would much rather spend his time crafting new items, inventing new pills, or simply just relaxing, but the urgency to improve his shinobi skills took precedence above all else.

"Well at least I can safely say I'm prepared for anything the genin test might throw at me," Kenji mumbled as he used his forearm to protect his eyes from the sun. "Still, I should take it easy for these next three days until the exam. A lot is riding on me passing. I absolutely cannot fail."

A few minutes later and Kenji was finally able to move without feeling like someone was stabbing him with hundred of kunai, now it only felt like they were using blunted ones.

Standing on unsteady legs, he collected his partner and placed her on his head and used the umbrella as a walking stick. Together they made their descent down the mountain and into the village.

He greeted the kind caretaker as he limped his way towards his apartment, he took out his keys from his storage ring and entered his room.

It was mostly empty at this point, since he had taken to packing everything he owned into different storage rings for easier travel. The only things still outside was his shrine to Kaguya, his cooking utensils, a couple glass cages stacked against the far wall, and some plotted plants; the bed and the fridge had come with the room so there was no need to place them in his storage.

He collapsed on the bed, placing the Akame on a separate pillow besides him. Taking out a stone brick, he used his remaining chakra to upgrade it three times, then he felt his eyes begin to close by themselves.

 **(Research and Development Facility)**

The Third Hokage walked down the long stone corridor of the underground facility. A guard that was blocking a large metal door saluted him, "Hokage-sama! Good day sir!"

"Haha. No need for that, at ease." Hiruzen said amiably to the shinobi, "anything I should be made aware of?"

The guard looked contemplating, almost as if he was unsure if he should say anything before finally deciding, "Ahem? I should warn you that the researchers have been getting rather frantic as of late."

Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "Frantic?"

"Ummm… it would be better if you see it yourself?" the man said as he opened the metal doors.

Chaos.

Chaos summed up the scene that greeted the aged shinobi. The shouting was the first thing that reached his scenes even before the door was fully open. Angry words and insult were flying around the room like a barrage of arrows, insults comparing the other's mother to dogs being the most common. Next the smell hit him, frankly speaking it smelled like an unwashed foot locker, causing him to involuntarily flare his nostrils. He was forced to see the best and brightest minds that the village had to offer reduced to simple brutes as the shouting match had turned into a fist fight.

"Enough."

With a simple word and a pulse of his chakra, the third quieted down everything in the room, leaving an awkward silence behind.

"Anyone mind explain what this is all about?"

All the researchers straightened their lab coats and dispersed, trying to save the small amount of dignity they had left. The head researcher, an old man with a clean-shaven head and bottle-lens glasses wiped the small amount of blood from his mouth and greeted the Hokage with a friendly smile.

"Ah Hokage-sama, sorry you had to see this shameful display. We weren't expecting company you see," the old man, that must have been the same age as the Third, said as he extended his hand for a handshake.

"Please Tatewaki, no need for formalities among friends."

"Hehe, I suppose you are right Hiruzen?"

Looking around the laboratory the Third gestured to all the scientists that were going over piles of data, "So what caused the fight?"

"Ah, just some divided opinions. I wouldn't pay it too much attention, this is just their way of letting out steam," Tatewaki said as he scratched his chin before gesturing for the Hokage to follow him further into the lab. "Most of these guys, haven't even left the lab in over a week."

"A week you say," the aged ninja said as he looked toward the sleeping bags cluster against one of the walls and the empty containers of takeout overflowing from the trash bin.

"Tch. It is mostly your fault Hiruzen," the bald senior said as they continued to ignore the others.

That caused the Third to pause momentarily, "My fault? How so?"

Shaking his head, the researcher chastised his long-time friend, "Really, you come barging in almost two months ago and all of sudden ask us to study something so interesting. What do you think was going to happen? You should know better than to leave such an enticing lure in front of us."

"Hahaha, forgive me old friend, but it was rather urgent. Speaking of which, what have you found so far?" the Third gave a friendly chuckle at the reason.

Tatewaki punched some buttons on the keyboard connected to the large computer monitor. Data began to fill the screen, showing different graphs and diagrams.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but we haven't found much. We did soil samples all along the river bed leading to the Forest of Death. Trace amounts of some foreign substance was found mixed into the dirt and plants. We collected a few specimens to see if there were any noticeable mutations," he explained before bring up different before and after pictures of plants. "As you can see, some of them hardly changed, while others are completely different, we are still trying to figure out exactly how they changed however, and if they have any new properties."

"What of the wildlife?" the Third asked, remembering the two bear corpses that had been brought to his office.

"You mean those two mutated bears, Subject 1 and 2. Yes well, we've had a little more luck on that end. Diagnostic jutsu confirm that the cause for their mutation was indeed triggered by the mysterious substance in the water. Most of Subject 2 was damaged when it was brought in, but luckily Subject 1 was left in pristine conditions, besides the missing heart, and that strange foam-like substance covering most of its head. By the way, some of the others have asked if you could provide a better sample of that growing-foam if possible."

"I'll see what I can do, but I fear that the inventor would be rather reluctant to part with it?" Hiruzen said.

"A shame," the bald scientist commented, as he switched to another diagram showing an overhead map of Training Ground 44, with part of it highlighted in red, "anyways, from the samples we were able to extract from it, we noticed that the bones were 4 times denser than the norm, the muscles were 5 times stronger as well, and even the organs were harder to damage. Truly fascinating, and from the reports you said that they were able to use elemental attacks and had a crystal imbedded in their heart. Any chance that the shinobi that took them would be willing to hand them over for study?"

An Anbu escort hidden in the ceiling let out an involuntary snort at that, having observed the boy's greed first hand.

The Third decided to ignore that before answering, "I wouldn't get my hopes up, the person who took them is known to be rather selfish. I'd sooner expect the First to come back from the dead."

"Now I'm really curious to know who it was that took down these beasts and created those artifacts," Tatewaki said as a glint formed in the corner of his eyes.

"I'll introduce you, when the time presents itself," Hiruzen added at the end.

"Ahh, you truly are my friend. How about we have a few drinks later," the man gestured in a pouring and drinking gesture.

The Hokage gave a genuine laugh, "I wouldn't say no if you're offering. But back to the matter at hand."

Shaking his head, the bald man got back on track, "Right. Right. Anyways, we sent in a couple of field agents to report back on the ecosystem… it wasn't pretty?"

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Pressing more keys, video footage of different exotic animals filled the screen. There was a white snake that had blue crystals growing out of its head that shot out ice spears from its mouth. A tiger with blue skin that gave out sparks of lightening. A green bird that was able to launch razor sharp winds capable of cutting full grown trees in half. "These are all the results caused by the river, we've been able to capture a few of them to study, but they seem to have some innate ability to sense us making it harder. Right now, the whole ecosystem is in chaos, the entire food chain is being written with every new addition, and territory lines are being drawn as we speak. I wouldn't be wrong in saying that we should rename Ground 44 from 'Forest of Death' to 'Forest of Certain Death'. The few men I sent in, almost didn't make it."

"That does present a problem," the Hokage said grim-faced.

"Not really. It would seem that they are content in fighting it among themselves for the time being. Right now it's a race to see who can get the most amount of power and claim the areas around the river. Frankly, it is a bit fighting to learn that they are starting to think for themselves, and unlike summoning animals they have no desire to partner with humans," the aged man told his friend, remembering that large catfish covered iron scales they kept in a water tank in the lower levels. He swore it was observing them when it thought they weren't looking.

"How much of the forest was affected?"

"I'd say anywhere between 45% to 55% and spreading as more continued to drink from the contaminated water. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I'm actually excited to studying all of these knew subjects. It's been awhile since anything new appeared around here?"

"And what can you tell me about these so-called chakra artifacts that I sent here awhile ago. Are you any closer to finding out how they work?"

The old man's face darkened for a bit when he heard mention of the chakra artifacts. Those that were close enough to overhear them also let out dark chuckles as they took out kunai from the depth of their robes thinking off all the things they would do to the person responsible for all of their suffering. "Unfortunately, no. Despite how many hours we have spent doing test after test, we have been unable to figure out anything about them. All that we do know, is that their structural makeup has gone through a drastic change by some unknown method, making them respond with the user's chakra. The chakra readings suggest that there might be some type of link between the artifacts and the mutations, but we are still missing a critical link."

"I see, and good work. I also think I might have a clue on that missing link. Cat," the Third commanded and the Cat masked Anbu dropped silently from the ceiling and took out a book from a scroll. She handed it over to the old researcher to look over.

"What's this, a novel? 'The Immortal Road?'" the man said as he looked over at the cover of a young man holding a sword and covered in a golden aura.

"Yes, it is a copy of a novel that we were able to acquire. You should know that the author is the same one that made the artifacts," Hiruzen confessed, although he was feeling guilty of having taken it from the young boy's room during their initial investigation.

"I see. I'll get right on it," Tatewaki said, as his interest was piqued.

"Of course, I'll leave you to your work. I'm sorry I can't stay any longer but I don't think I can put off my paperwork any further," the Hokage apologized sadly.

The old man waved him off, "Don't worry about it friend. Just don't forget we're going out for drinks later, I still need to boast about my darling granddaughter Shiho.

"Hahaha, agreed!" Hiruzen smiled as he left.

As he was exiting the facility, he called to his Anbu in charge of watching Kenji, "Cat, you heard. What is your analysis of Kenji?"

Knowing what he was really asking, the purple haired shinobi spoke honestly, "I don't think that Yamamoto-san knew exactly what he was doing when he contaminated the water. I am almost positive that it was purely accidental."

"Oh? Are you that certain?"

"If I might speak frankly Hokage-sama?"

"You may."

"After observing Yamamoto-san for almost three months, I can safely say he does not harbor even one iota of malicious intent. While we can all agree that he is perhaps the most black-hearted merchant that we've ever had the displeasure of meeting-"

"I wouldn't go that far Cat," the Hokage said coughing into his fist.

"- I can not imagine him causing anyone any harm. His personality just doesn't add-up to that of a mastermind."

"His personality?"

"I've watched the same boy that's taken hundreds of ryo from his customer, pick up food off the ground and eat it with a smile. I witnessed first hand, how he dived head first into a sewer because he saw someone accidentally drop a 100 ryo coin down the drain," Yugito said seriously.

"Right. No need to get any further?" the Third said with a sweat drop at the examples. "Continue observation just to make sure."

"He is currently in his room resting from his run."

"Oh right. Why did he have to meet Gai of all people," the aged shinobi rubbed his temples in stress, "Well, at least he doesn't shout about youth every five minutes. Are the sensors and Hyugas still unable to penetrate that strange barrier he has set around his room."

"That is correct. We currently have no visual inside the room."

"Okay, I want you and your squad to pull back the 24-hour watch around his apartment for the time being. He's been careful to hid most of his abilities so far, but with it being so close to his genin test, he will be more likely to let something slip in a more open area. Plus we will they will be needed around the village, some very important guest will be visiting soon."

 **(Next day)**

"Over there! To the left. Now to the right! There! You can drop it," a buff muscular man shouted.

Kenji complied with the orders and dropped the two-ton barrel of sake softly on the ground.

"Good work, that was the last of them. I really appreciate the help kid," the man said in jovial voice as he bent down to clasp a hand on Kenji's shoulder.

Despite the large amount of nutrition pills and elixirs he had consumed, Kenji was still stuck at 4 foot 6 inches.

"Don't mention it Uncle, I thank you for the opportunity to learn from you," Kenji said as he bowed to the older man.

The barely man almost cried at the honest answer, "you're a good kid, unlike that lazy good for nothing I call a son."

The man's teenage son that was in the same cellar room looked up from his position and flipped him the bird.

"I don't have much to give you, but why don't you take a couple caskets of sake as my thanks," the man said as they walked toward the above section of the sake factory, where even now, clones of Kenji were moving around like busy worker ants. It was a shame that Kenji couldn't gain their memory.

"I'll happily take them off your hands Uncle, good sake shouldn't be rejected," Kenji said kindly, even if he would much rather like a cash reward.

"Haha! Spoken like a true man!" the sake master spoke as he slapped Kenji on the back with enough force to send a normal person stumbling forward, but barely budged him.

Looking to the side, the small boy saw one of the large fermenting tanks that had been left discarded to the side. It was about 9 feet tall and 6 feet in diameter, with the outside being made to look like a wooden barrel and the inside being metal. "Are you going to throw it out?"

"Huh? Yeah, it was getting kinda old and it was easier to just get a new one instead of always fixing it again. Why? You want it?"

"I'll take it, if you have no more use for it?"

"Sure kid. Maybe you can give it a new purpose."

Kenji bid the man farewell after putting away the sake barrels and the fermentation barrel in his ring.

He had taken to doing one or two jobs from the bulletin board when he had free time. They didn't usually pay a lot and most of what they did give him was usually equipment, or maybe produce if he was helping a farmer, but that wasn't why he did them. Kenji enjoyed interacting with people, he loved learning about what normal people did. His favorite jobs were usually those that involved helping out elderly veteran shinobi, since they had the best stories, plus he simply admired them for living to such a ripe age.

Most of the time his reward was a simple meal, but sometimes like today, he would get something very expensive. Plus he learned new skills, with every job he took. Just last week he helped out a seamstress, who's coworker had called in sick. The old woman running the shop, had taught him how to sew and design simple clothes. Since he already had previous experience in the crafting of armor he was able to pick it up at a faster rate. With a bit of practice and better quality material, and he would be able to sell clothes when he reopened his shop.

As Kenji A's grandfather would always say, "There is no such thing as a useless skill". Of course, this was always followed with an order for Kenji A to practice his blacksmithing.

Still, the new Kenji took it to heart. Plus the more skills he learned, the more diverse he could make his shop. Perhaps he would even give sake brewing a try in the future.

Akame, the little freeloader, was jumping by his side.

"So what do you want to do now? We already did two jobs earlier today. We could do another one but I'm kinda not in the mood?" the little boy told his companion.

The small rabbit still couldn't talk, but she was able to make some gestured that Kenji could understand.

"So no one is us watching today? I guess we could practice some techniques outside and then we can go for ice-cream." Kenji knew that he was being watched, since Akame would always alert him when she would sense someone nearby.

Akame jumped excitedly at the thought of that rare creamy luxury.

 **(Forest Clearing)**

Kenji sat in a lotus position in the middle of the forest, Akame was also sitting facing him.

Closing his eyes, Kenji took a deep breath and blocked everything out, only Akame was still there.

After three entire months of practice, the small academy student was finally able to release chakra from all of his chakra points. Ha, suck on that Hyugas! He did exactly that as he gained a visible blue aura around himself.

Carefully he tried to connect his chakra with Akame's. It had been an ongoing experiment to see if he was capable of using ninshu, like Naruto and the Sage of Sixth Paths. So far none of his previous attempts had worked, but he still had hope.

His chakra clashed with her own. When he first tried this, it had been like water and oil, and no matter how hardy he tried they simply couldn't mix. But now, he was able to match her chakra with his own, like to jigsaw puzzle pieces. He tried to be the yang to her yin, not trying to understand her, just accepting it all.

They duo lost track of time, as they were too busy sensing the mixing of their chakra.

Kenji let go. Letting Akame's feelings simple flow into him uncensored. He almost lost the connection, from the sudden torrent of emotions that were suddenly appearing in his mind. He could feel her surprise at their sudden connection. There were no words said, as they took turns simply sending one emotion after the other. Then they sent sensations; the feel of the grass underneath fur, the smell of the damp forest floor, the image of a tree leaf falling.

Perhaps it was because Kenji was a combination of two other people, but he had always been sensitive to other people's emotions. As such, he could feel everything about her, even her newly formed beast crystal that was pulsating with in some type of strange energy.

Hours passed as the boy and his rabbit simply sat there, deepening their bond. Finally, Kenji opened his eyes and looked at Akame with a smile.

"Well that was fun?"

'…i-ice..cream,' came the cute baby sounding mental reply. It still sounded rather fuzzy, like listening to an old radio, but it was slowly getting better.

"Well, I did promise," Kenji said as he stood up wobbly.

'Smi…smiling?'

"Huh? Am I," the small boy replied in confusion until he touched his face and found that it was stuck in a grin, "huh. It looks like I am. I'm feeling a little out of it too." Kenji felt dizzy, but in a pleasant kind of way, almost like he was drunk or high. "Maybe this is a side effect of our connection."

Together the duo made their way back to the village, going slow so that Kenji wouldn't trip over his two legs.

It was already nightfall, and many of the shops had their lights on.

Feeling even more lightheaded, they accidentally bumbled their way into the red-light district of Konoha.

He passed by gambling dens guarded by yakuza looking men, courtesan waving at passersby outside of brightly colored bars, even pleasure houses where men came out wearing big grins. He saw money being openly exchanging as scantily-clad women took men into dark alleys, or from drug users getting their next fix.

Kenji was actually very familiar with the red-light district. Most of the jobs on the bulletin board pertained to something involving this district, from serving as waiters to running errands. Kenji had also taken to coming down two times a week, to practice his medical ninjutsu. He would volunteer to give the girls regular check-ups for free. It was a win-win. He could practice his medical skills with willing patients and the Madams running the brothels didn't have to hire a doctor, who were known to cost a fortune. Plus, they knew he didn't harbor any ulterior motives since he was only a child.

As he stubbled down the street, many of the regular street walkers that knew him called to him in concern. He waved off their worries, saying that he just eat something bad.

His chakra was running wild underneath his skin, and he had trouble reining it in, all the while being bombarded with foreign emotions coming from all around him. It was then that he felt a jolt of dark emotions hit him, causing him to trip.

Looking up from his kneeling position he saw, a young girl, who couldn't be more than 14. She had dark red hair that reached her shoulders, blue eyes, a height of 5 feet, and breast that must have at least been C-cups or bigger. She was wearing a red Chinese dress and standing nervously against a wall with among a group of women that were known to perform some 'special' services for the right amount of money. From the way that she was holding herself, and the scared look in her eyes it would be safely assumed that she was still fairly new to this line of work, probably her first night too with the way she pulled into herself whenever a man passed by.

Feeling lightheaded, Kenji stood up and walked toward the group of women, just as man was getting ready to talk to the redhaired girl.

"So how much?" the stranger said to the girl. From his sluggish movements and the alcohol in his breath, it could be said that he was already drunk.

"Umm…1-1,000 ryo…" she said looking down at the floor in shame.

Just as they were getting ready to leave, Kenji grabbed the hem of the man's shirt.

The two looked at him.

"Hic. What do you want kid?" the man said turning around with unsteady legs.

"I'm sorry, but I saw her first," Kenji said with foxlike eyes and a huge grin, trying not to fall over himself.

"Grrr. Get lost kid, go back to your mother!" the drunk yelled getting irritated.

Kenji grabbed the man's hand and began to apply pressure.

"Ow. Ow, let go of me," the man pleaded as he dropped to his knees when the pressure on his hand threatened to break his bones.

"Whoops! Sorry, I can't control my strength right now?" the small boy confessed in a pleasant tone as if he just hadn't caused a man 4 times his age to kneel before him. Opening his eyes, to show twin pools of amber filled with malicious intent, Kenji released a small amount of chakra to intimidate the man. "As I was saying, I had my eye on her first."

"Yeah, sure kid!" the man said as he scurried out of there, leaving Kenji and the redhaired girl alone.

She looked nervous, but also relived.

Tilting his head to the side, Kenji looked at her up and down before asking, "Your name wouldn't happen to be Ranma would it?"

Taking aback, the girl looked confused before answering in a small voice, "No."

"How about Ranko?"

"No."

"Is your last name Uzumaki?"

"No."

"Huh. I must be more out of it than I thought," Kenji said as he was starting to see double.

"…Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" Kenji replied, unsure which of two girls in front of him he should be answer to.

"…"

"…"

Looking away from Kenji, she seemed more frustrated than scared now, "I need the money okay? I'm not doing this because I want to!"

Patiently, Kenji closed his eyes and leaned against a nearby wall, "Of course you are. I doubt you would be doing this at such a young age if you didn't have your reasons."

"…"

"…"

"…Aren't you going to ask what they are?" she said in a bitter tone.

"Hmmm? Alright. 1000?" Kenji asked, taking out a 1000 ryo bill from his ring and tossing it toward the girl.

The redhead girl looked at him in confusion, "Huh?"

"You said it was 1000 ryo for your services right. So know I want you to tell me a story?" the small academy student said as he gave a big yawn.

"A story?" she asked suspiciously.

"Yep. But not just any story. I want to hear your story. What made you come here today?" Kenji said, as he sat against the wall to make himself more comfortable, petting Akame who had fallen asleep during their walk. He normal wouldn't ask some to tell him something so personal. He knew that everyone had their reasons, and most liked to keep those reasons to themselves, but he was feeling rather strange right now, and the whirlwind of emotions coming from the girl weren't helping.

"Fine," with a bitter smile, the girl took a seat next to him and began her tale.

Kenji was only half listening, as he was too busy gawking at the strange colors and shapes that had invaded his vision. He tried to tune them out, trying to focus sole on the girl, and succeeded in forming some type of connection. Even as inebriated as he was, he did manage to get the jist of it.

Her name was Aiko, she lived on a farm most of her life with her elderly grandfather and mother in a faraway village. Their farm had experienced a drought for a number of years already, and her grandfather had to take out a number of loans form shady people just to keep it afloat. Her grandfather had gotten sick and died a few months ago, causing the debt that he had accumulated to pass on to her and her mother. Everyone in their village turned their back on them since they didn't want to be targets for the loan sharks, even her childhood sweetheart had been too scared to be seen together with her. A few days later her mother had left in the middle of the night leaving only a note behind. Aiko was left alone, and she had traveled all the way to Konoha to hopefully raise the money in order to pay back the loan sharks, tonight was her first night. Overall, it was an A-grade sob story, and the emotions he felt during her retelling added to her credibility.

During the middle of the story she had began to openly sob, and Kenji began to pet her head in a consoling manner. At that point he was already half-asleep and could tell what was real and what wasn't. He was 60% percent sure that the dancing frog across the street was only a hallucination.

"Hmm, you really are a silly girl," Kenji said as he began to comb and tie her hair into a pigtail.

"What are you doing," she asked as she wiped her eyes.

"Hush now silly girl," the younger boy said as he finished tying her hair with a black ribbon he pulled from his kimono. He stood up unsteadily on two feet and retrieved a suitcase from his ring's inventory. Opening the lid, he showed it to the girl, and watched her eyes grow in astonishment as it was filled with stacks of 1,000 ryo bills.

"What the-"

"Shhh. Take it and use it to fix your problems," Kenji explained as he took out an empty storage ring from his kimono, and slowly pressed it against the suitcase, causing the money to disappear inside it. Then he flicked it toward the stunned girl, who just barely caught it.

Then he took out an ornamental hairpin made of ivory with a wing carved on the end and placed it firmly in her hands.

 **Hairpin of Fortune +10**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Attack: 30**

 **+300**

 **10+: Lucky encounters increase by 500%**

 **Chakra points Needed to Upgrade: 130**

"Why are you giving me this? In fact why are you helping me at all!?" she shouted, unable to believe what was happening.

Looking up toward the night sky put on a confused look. "…I don't know? I might even regret it in the morning, but right now… right now I would feel pretty bad if I didn't help you out," Kenji confessed.

Indeed, when he woke up the next day, he would curse himself to the high heavens for giving away such a valuable artifact as well as all that money.

"I can't take this!" she exclaimed as she stood up and tried to push the ring and hairpin back into Kenji's hands, only to be rejected.

"Why not? Weren't you going to sell your body only minutes ago. If it _is_ because of your pride, then that shouldn't be a problem. You were bound to lose it either way tonight, at least this way you can still keep your virginity. So stop acting so big, simply bow your head and take the money," Kenji said coldly.

Despite how much she wanted to retort and say something to defend herself, she really couldn't. He was right about everything, and it hurt more than she thought it would to admit that. She was really in no position to refuse, with a defeated expression she bowed her head to him and asked in a small whisper, "… What's your name?"

"Me? I'm Kenji Yamamoto, and I will become the best merchant in the world… believe it! HehehahahahaHAHAHA!" Kenji dropped to the ground clutching his stomach, laugh his ass off at the stupid joke he just made.

Aiko looked at him weirdly, no doubt thinking he had finally gone insane.

After a while, Kenji finally stopped laughing and stood up before beginning to walk away without a word.

"Hey, wait. Where are you going?" the petit girl called to him.

Now it was her turn to receive a strange look, "I'm going home obviously. It is late, and the streets are no place for someone as defenseless and cute as me. You never know what kind of crazy people roam the streets after all. …Goodbye you silly girl."

The small boy flashed her a smile and waved at her one last time before disappearing in a whirlwind of leaves.

"Kenji Yamamoto huh?" Aiko muttered as she gripped the hairpin and the ring tightly in her hands. With renewed hope in her eyes, she began to walk away from the red-light district, making a promise to herself that she would one day come back to repay the favor.

 **(Village gate)**

"I wonder what was the reason that sensei decided to call for me," a large man with long spiky white hair said as he entered the village. "Does it have anything to do with large amount of carriage coming from the Fire Capital I saw on my way here? …Ah, who cares, I better do go to the hot springs and do some research before things get hectic. Hehehe."

Kenji meanwhile was back in his apartment sleeping soundly, unaware of the approaching events that were about to take place. Instead, he was getting ready to have a very interesting dream curtesy of a certain goddess.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey all my people, hope you enjoyed it.**

 **Now then, it's time for me to explain somethings.**

 **First off, pairing. I'm sure many of you are curious what the pairing is, and the answer is:**

 **I don't know. I haven't really thought much about it, I might make a poll later in the story, but right now, I don't really want to think about romance. I just want it to be a little fun story or a shopkeeper and his ninja customers, maybe when the storyline advances it might change, but right now he is only interested in money.**

 **Next off is the Forest of Death, obviously some things are going to change but worry not because I have a plan for that. As you can see, it only took a small catalyse to cause that effect and this is why. Chakra dust is crystalized nature chakra mixed with Kenji's chakra. Things that absorb it like plant and animals become pseudo-sages.**

 **They filter nature energy in their bodies and then release nature chakra back into the world, acting like plants or a set of lungs. Every breath taken adds to the nature energy in the world and makes it easier for chakra beasts and plants to be born without the need for chakra dust.**

 **So basically, chakra dust acts like a virus.**

 **The genin exam will also be different for Kenji for two reasons.**

 **One: He chose to become a part of the reserve, also commonly known as the cannon fodder or errand boys. These are the shinobi that didn't get picked for a team, and instead expected to learn everything by themselves, instead of learning it slowly and with the help of a jonin sensei. Genin that failed the team test are also part of this group, so there will be a mixture of strong and weak opponents with a lot of the ages varying. (Hint: one of the test will be a mock-war battle)**

 **Two: The Hokage will no doubt want to figure out more about his abilities and will change some of the regular rules in order to catch Kenji off guard. From this chapter, you saw that shinobi aren't stupid, they will eventually figure out how Kenji is doing things. Learn to replicate them on the other hand will be impossible without Kenji.**

 **Now to the reason why Kenji was acting drunk when talking to Aiko. The answer lays in Ninshu. He was still fairly new to being able to connect to others with his chakra and didn't know how to block off foreign emotions just yet. This results in him being extra sensitive to outside emotions, and in a place like Konoha with a lot of people that can be extremely troublesome. The red-light district, where a lot of strong emotions are flying around all the time, is the worst place for Kenji at the moment, and as you can see, it caused him to trip balls.**

 **I hope I cleared some of your questions, I'm sure I missed some. Now questions of my own.**

 **Did you like the chapter? What do you think about some of the other chakra beasts? Surprised about Kenji giving money away? Don't worry, he won't be do that again. Did you like Aiko, should she appear later in the story?**

 **Next chapter will have Kenji finally meeting with Kaguya, yay! The Fire Daymio and a bunch of nobles will also be coming to Konoha, so that's fun. And finally the gening test.**


	10. Kaguya's new servant

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references in this fanfic.**

 **A quick shout out to all those who wrote comments.**

 **I'm slowly going through the comments to include some of your ideas into the story so expect to see an increase in artifacts and such.**

 **There will be more information at the end.**

 **Chapter 10**

Kenji opened his eyes in shock. He gazed at the endless void in front of him in fear, feeling a strange pressure in his chest followed by sense of weightlessness that was usually associated with being underwater.

In fact, he could feel water in his mouth and he grabbed his throat in worry, before realizing that he wasn't drowning. Relaxing a bit, he began to inspect his surroundings once more.

'Where am I? The last thing I remember is falling asleep on my bed,' he thought as he floated in the invisible water, unable to even see his body because of the lack of light.

Just as he was thinking that, the area was illuminated, and he was finally able to see where he was.

He was floating in the middle of what appeared to be a huge white marble corridor, and he meant 'huge' as the ceiling and the floor looked to be thousands of feet apart. It was like he was a regular sized ant that had stepped into the castle of a giant.

The entire area was shown brightly as if every surface was giving a white glow. The floor was polished until it looked like a mirror and the walls were lined with rich tapestry that resembled battles from Ancient China. Countless identical doors were on either side of the walls, and each looked big enough to allow even the bijuu to enter unhindered.

'What the? … I wonder how much one of those tapestries would be worth,' the small boy thought as he looked at one of the pictures and saw the induvial thread that looked more like ropes from that distance.

'Well nothing comes from just stand- floating here,' he thought and began to move around the room that was filled with some strange invisible water. He was glad that there was no one there watching him, he would be mortified if they saw him doggie paddling his way in the air.

He must have swam for half an hour already, and yet he had only passed 7 doors. Looking at the never-ending corridor, Kenji felt an overwhelming sense of despair, before gaining a look of determination. He was just lucky that it seemed he couldn't get tired.

2 hours of non-stop swimming and Kenji was finally able to make it to a large wooden door that looked to be made of ivory, gold, and silver with gigantic jewels and gems placed in such a way to make a mosaic of a large tree with a single fruit growing from the top.

Kenji immediately recognized the tree as the Shinju Tree, but that was the least of his concerns. At that very moment, he was too busy looking at the chakra fruit, which was just one large ruby the size of a large house. He gulped hungrily as he saw it, and without thinking he had already swam towards it, ignoring the much smaller gems and precious metals. 'I need something to yank it off the door! With this, I won't need to work a day in my life,' the boy said as his eyes reflected his greed.

Just as he touched it, he felt a shift in his environment, and he was thrown backwards with a tremendous amount of force.

"AAAhhhh!"

He flew through the corridor in the opposite direction he had just come from at rapid speeds. The doors that took him so much time to swim past, blurred into nothing and he could feel something approaching.

A set of doors the same size as the previous one, appeared in front of him, but he wasn't stopping. It felt like a whirlpool was pulling him towards whatever was behind it. Luckily, he was sucked into the keyhole on the door that was just big enough to let him get through.

He was still spinning out of control, but it looked like he was in a new room.

It took a second, but he was finally able to get enough control to tell up from down again.

Turning away from the door that he had just come through, he looked around causing him to nearly have a heart attack on the spot.

Right in the center of the room was a colossal white tree that reached the high ceiling. A single leaf from its numerous branches was as big as Kenji's entire body with the top of the tree looking big enough to hold the entirety of Konoha with plenty of room to spare. (Hidden Leaf Village, get it). There was a large throne carved right out the side of its trunk that stood hundreds of feet tall and sitting right in it was none other than the Rabbit Goddess, Kaguya, herself.

She was a beautiful woman, as expected of a goddess. With soft ivory skin, long silky silver hair and bright red lips, she would be a woman that could enchant any mortal. What really stood out however, were her white pupil-less eyes that were so similar to the Hyugas and the two protruding brown horns on top of her head that were responsible for giving her the moniker. Her red rinnegan/sharingan was mysteriously missing from her forehead making her look slightly more human.

He said slightly because she was still hundreds of feet tall. A dozen normal sized people could sit comfortably in the palm of her hand with enough room to spare.

Kenji was captivated in an instant.

However, it was not her unearthly beauty or her radiating power that made his heart beat at an natural rate, it was the giant piles of glittering gold and jewels that were scattered around her feet, like tiny grains of sand. Her high-collared kimono looked exactly as the ones from the anime, but there was countless of small jewels and precious metals interwoven into every inch of the fabric, making it a sea of riches. Just one yard of this cloth would be enough to make him the richest person in the entire Leaf Village.

He knew he was caught gawking when he looked up and saw a small amused smile on her lips. For some reason he really liked that smile, perhaps it had something to do with the fact that it meant he wouldn't be dying a messy death so soon.

Kenji instinctively smiled back when he didn't sense any ill intent from her, all the while trying to remain afloat in the air.

They stared at each other, white meeting amber, both unsure as to what to say.

It was Kenji that broke first, as he gave a nervous bow, that caused him to almost do a barrel roll. This caused Kaguya's face to soften. Steadying himself so as to not further embarrass himself, he pushed down the growing blush in his cheeks and greeted the large goddess.

"Hello, it is pleasure to finally meet you Princess Kaguya. Do you happen to know who I am?"

'Yes. You are the young boy, Kenji Yamamoto, who prays to me every night. I have seen the shrine you have made for me as well as the offerings' Kaguya said telepathically in a collected voice.

The sudden use of telepathy surprised Kenji for a bit, before steadying his nerves once more.

"I hope you don't think it presumptuous of me my goddess, but do you think I might be able to ask you some questions?" Kenji asked in the politest manner possible, he was speaking to royalty after all. Royalty that could kill him with a single thought.

Kaguya gave him a reassuring smile and spoke directly to his mind once more, 'I do not mind, ask your questions child.'

"Thank you, my lady. I suppose my first question is: where are we?" the small boy asked looking around the room in curiosity. The ground was entirely covered in gold and other riches, while the ceiling had a glass roof that showed earth floating above them.

Kaguya gestured her hand to the side and spoke in a very casual manner, 'All of this is in your mind, Kenji Yamamoto. We are currently in something called a mindscape, a physical representation of your mind.'

"I see… that's too bad," Kenji lamented in sorrow as he gazed at the room full of riches that were nothing but a figment of his imagination. Gathering himself he looked into the eyes of Kaguya who had patiently waited for him to go on, "If this is all happening in my head, does this mean that you aren't really here?"

'Do not worry Kenji Yamamoto, for I am real.'

He didn't know if what she said was true or not, but either way it didn't make much of a difference. "Okay. So was there a reason for summoning me My Lady?"

This time it was Kaguya's turn to give him a curious look, 'That is where you are incorrect Kenji Yamamoto, for it was not I who summoned you. Quite the contrary, you were the one who reached out to me, I merely answered?'

Raising an eyebrow at the answer, he decided to say a follow up question, "Why did you decided to meet me?"

This time, the Rabbit Goddess gave him a small smile, that made her look even more beautiful, 'I was curious. It has been centuries since I was imprisoned, I was sure that all had forgotten me. It came as a surprise when some one actually called to me. Tell me child, how do you know of me?'

Furring his brow, Kenji looked confused by the question, "Can't you just read my mind to figure that out My Lady? It should be easy with your immense power."

'I only have as much power as you give me Kenji Yamamoto. This is after all your mind. Although I must admit I am flattered by the image you have of me in your mind,' Kaguya confessed, causing Kenji to let out a mental sigh of relief at knowing she couldn't read his mind.

He had always thought of Kaguya as some grand ultimate being, capable of unimaginable power, the pinnacle of life, so it was only reasonable that his mind would reflect that too by giving her an enormous body and surrounding her with riches. "I thank you for your sincerity My Lady, and for answering my foolish questions. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask?"

'I see. I will have to take you up on that offer. I am curious? Tell me Kenji Yamamoto, who are you?'

Trying to stand as straight as possible in the air, Kenji puffed up his chest and answered in a proud voice, "I am mere a craftsman and a merchant. I create masterpieces and works of art for all, even the Daimyo's wife. While my name is not well known yet, I am confident that in a few years I will be renowned throughout the entire world! …and I suppose I could be considered a shinobi in training." He whispered that last part as he was unsure of the Rabbit Goddess's opinion on shinobi.

For the first time, the Rabbit Goddess had a small frown on her face as she answered, 'I am afraid that I know very little of the happenings of the real world, so I am unfamiliar with the term 'shinobi'. Perhaps you might be kind enough to explain this term to me.'

Now it was Kenji's turn to look nervous.

Seeing his hesitance Kaguya decided to give him incentive, 'Perhaps a trade is in order. You stated that you were a merchant did you not. Sell me the information I wish to obtain, and I will reward you accordingly. Those pieces of parchment that you wish me to bless should be a fair deal.'

'Damn, is she blackmailing me? Does she mean that if I don't give her information, she will stop blessing the talisman? I absolutely can't let that happen!' Kenji though worriedly, his respect for the Rabbit Goddess rose at her clever plan. 'As expected of the goddess I chose to worship. She was able to back me into a corner with just the small amount of information I've told her. She probably pieced together the fact that I am a merchant and the large quantity of talisman she blesses every night, and correctly concluded that they are irreplaceable in my business.'

Seeing the small boy freeze, Kaguya was beginning to worry internally. She had thought that it was fair deal, she would give him new and more powerful blessings and he would in exchange inform her of what was happening in the outside world. She new it must have been centuries since she had been sealed by her sons, but she was anxious to know the current state of the world. She had felt her sons' passing a long time ago, and with her sealed, there would be no one to protect the world if her clansmen happened to come to this world and destroy it. She would never allow that to happen, the Earth was her precious nursery, and she would do her best to make sure it was safe.

Just as Kaguya was contemplating offering a better deal, Kenji looked at her with eyes full of respect and admiration causing her to momentarily be stunned. She felt herself grow bigger, and more jewels emerged on her kimono, until it looked like she was made of diamonds.

Taking a knee like a knight in front of royalty he gave her a blinding smile and responded, "I see. If that is your wish my goddess, then I would be more than happy to inform you of what has happened after your sealing. Although some of the information I say might not be entirely correct, it is true as far as I know of it."

Kaguya extended one of her enormous hands toward Kenji. The boy didn't look worried in the least, trusting the goddess to not harm him, not like he could stop her anyways. She placed him on the palm of her extend hand after noticing his struggle to maintain his position in the air.

Kenji was able to sit securely in her palm making him think, 'Is this her way of establishing her superiority, by saying that I am currently in the palm of her hand?'

She brought him closer to her face, until they were almost eyelevel. Again, he says almost, because at this point it was clear that Kenji could fit in one of those pearly white orbs.

'I would appreciate that very much Kenji Yamamoto,' she finished with a small smile gracing her lips.

Kenji could sort of sense her emotions now that they were connected physically. While there was a deep well of sadness and grief coming from her, he could also sense joy and hope directed at him.

Unknowingly he gave her a wide grin as he began to tell her of what he understood happened after her sealing. He was lucky that he was such a history buff and had studied the creation of the hidden villages so extensively.

Kenji made sure to not leave anything out or mislead her for two very important reasons. The first being that he wanted to gain her trust, so that when she was eventually revived she would not smite him on the spot. Second was that she would ultimately learn all of this anyway, when she reconnected with Black Zetsu and it would be more beneficial toward his health if she didn't think that he had been trying to deceive or manipulate her. Perhaps he could even foster a friendship with the imprisoned goddess, or at the very least an agreement.

He was only able to tell her up to the Clan wars before he felt the room shake.

"What!? Is this an earthquake?" he yelled in panic.

Kaguya looked as calm as ever as she inspects the large room and notice that she was slowly becoming transparent with every passing second. She turned to the panicking boy that was running circles on her palm like scared chicken, causing the edge of her mouth to raise by a small margin, 'It would seem that our time together is being cut short Kenji Yamamoto. You must be waking up right now.'

Kenji stopped his panicking and let out a breath of relief, he didn't know what could have caused the room to shake, but hopefully it was nothing dangerous. "I understand. I am sorry that I was unable to tell you anymore Kaguya-sama."

'I thank you for the information so far Kenji Yamamoto,' she stated as she inclined her head slightly in his direction in what could be presumed to be a bow.

The small academy student looked shocked at her humble gesture and threw himself into a bow making sure his forehead was touching the ground (her palm) before hurriedly blurting out, "No! No! Kaguya-sama, please there is no need for that. I am just a humble servant, it is my pleasure to be of service to you?"

'… A servant you say? I will remember this the next time?' she said with a happy expression as she became complete transparent and disappeared from the mindscape.

It took Kenji a couple seconds to realize what he just said, but then his eyes shot open in horror.

'Oh no! What if she took that to mean that I was willing to do anything for her? What if she asks me to try and free her? What if she wants me to give her my chakra? Wait, what if she expects me to do things free of charge!?' Kenji thought horrified at the idea of doing anything for free. In the back of his mind he knew he was forgetting something, but he couldn't remember what it was.

Suddenly Kenji's head twisted to the side, and he felt pain on his cheek.

"Wha-oof!"

Pain blossomed on his other cheek, almost as if someone had hit him again.

He grabbed his throat in panic, when he noticed that he couldn't breath. The world around him was rapidly beginning to turn dark.

 **(Scene change)**

Gasp!

Fresh air-filled Kenji's lungs as he sat up from his bed. Akame that had been sleeping on his face was thrown off, causing her to tumble off the side of the head and bump her head on the floor.

"Oh Goddess! I almost died! Damn it Akame, I told you to stop doing that!" the boy said to his rabbit partner as she rubbed her head.

He laid back down on his bed trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. It was then that he remembered the dream he had, 'Was it really just a dream or did that actually happen?''

Looking in the direction of his shrine, Kenji screamed.

"Ahhhhhhhh!"

Leaping out of his bed, he took refuge under it. Akame who didn't know why he screamed, followed him a second latter, trusting the cowardly academy student to always be aware of danger.

Kenji still shivering poked his head out of his hiding place with Akame. The small bunny scanned the room in search of danger but was unable to find anything. Kenji however was frozen stiff as he stared at the mask placed in the middle of the shrine, that he was sure wasn't there last night.

'Wait a second! Last night, what did I do last night? I-I remember walking into the red-!'

"Nooooo!" the small boy screamed in horror, no longer carrying about the mask as he stood up, throwing the bed above him to the side. Akame startled by the scream began to run in place, trying to find the danger.

Focusing on his spatial ring, he was shown a large room in his mind, filled with numerous items. Mentally scanning for the items in questions, he noticed that one of his briefcase full of money and an upgraded hairpin were missing. Crumbling to his knees in despair, he looked helplessly at Akame that was beginning to give him a concerned look. "Akame, I did something bad yesterday."

"Looks like I messed up. Tehee-oof!"

Kenji was kicked hard in the face after he finished telling Akame of what he had done for the girl. "Okay I deserve that," he admitted, trying to steady his vision. Akame's kicks were already powerful enough to break rock, and Kenji didn't feel like making her more angry by complaining.

Even with their newly established connection, Kenji was unable to make out her squeeks, although he was pretty sure she wasn't even saying words on account of how mad she was. Her fur was hiked up and an angry aura had began to manifest around her.

While he would normally stop her from escalating things this far, he took the following beating with grace, knowing that he would have done the same.

Once his partner had calmed down, she had refused to look at him and wandered to the fridge where she began to scarf down baby carrots in anger.

Kenji used medical ninjutsu to nurse his wounds.

Sometimes he regretted teaching Akame the value of money, and while she might not be able to do long division yet, she could do basic math. She knew that less money, meant less luxuries, and less luxuries meant less snacks like carrots. Simple but effective.

Finish healing the last of the cuts, he walked over to Akame who was in the process of eating her second bowl of carrots. He wasn't sure how she did it, but even after eating her weight in food, she didn't look any bigger. As a matter of fact, she was still on the small side despite it being months since her birth and eating regularly. She noticed him behind her but refused to look at him.

"Aww come on, Akame. I already feel bad enough already, can you please stop making me feel worse," Kenji pleaded as he hugged her close to his chest.

'Humph!' The small rabbit made a show of trying to resist his embrace but settled down without looking at him.

"Don't be like that, you know I didn't mean it," the small boy said as he began to scratch behind her shoulders, knowing that was her weak spot.

Akame immediately closed her eyes in bliss, '… no… fair.'

"It would really mean a lot to be if you could forgive me. I'll even treat you to a buffet of your favorite foods later," Kenji said the last part almost reluctantly, but that was enough for Akame.

She looked into his eyes trying to see if he was lying, 'Pro… Promise?'

He met her gaze and answered honestly, "Yeah, so please stop being mad?"

She didn't say anything, but she did manage to climb up his arms and press her nose against his cheek, before scampering off back to bed.

Kenji let out a small breath of relief, but his gaze immediately went toward the mask.

Steading his nerve he summoned a round shield large enough to protect him and walked toward the small shrine. Sitting there innocently was a black and silver wolf mask, on the forehead was the Otsutsuki Clan's logo. It looked to be made out of some type of metal put he wasn't sure what it was. He extended a single finger toward the mask and received some information.

 **Otsutsuki Dog Mask**

 **Quality: Low-Heaven**

 **Defense: Indestructible**

 **\+ Increases learning speed to all chakra related abilities by 200%-1000% for 6 hours every day. (Warning: $%e#%#$)**

 **Chakra points Needed to Upgrade: 30,000**

"Ack!" He pulled back his hand as if it had bitten him, dropping the shield on his toe, not that it hurt him much.

"What the hell!" he shouted as he grabbed the mask, which was surprisingly light. He couldn't believe it, "A Heaven grade artifact! The system said it was indestructible too! And it boosts learning speed to chakra abilities. I'm kinda worried about that warning though, … I wonder why I can't read it." Then he looked at the final line and let out a wince, "Ouch, the chakra needed to boost it is no joke. I'm not even close to that level."

 **Chakra: Genin**

 **Chakra Points: 1,950/ 1,950**

He wasn't sure when he would reach chunin level reserves, but he was sure that even that wouldn't be enough to upgrade the mask. He had managed to raise his chakra from low academy student to genin level in just five months.

He would admit that it was tempting, a mask that would never break would no doubt be the best protection when he needs to go out on missions, but he was still cautious of the warning. Deciding to stay on the side of caution he placed the mask in his ring and promised himself that he wouldn't use it unless it was an emergency.

It was then that he saw a talisman where the mask had been. It wasn't one of his so it could only be from Kaguya.

 **Kaguya's Monkey Talisman:**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **+Can transform any person, animal, or object into something else. (Effects can last up to 1 week.)**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 30**

"Did she create this from my explanation on the Transformation Jutsu? Could this mean, that I'm able to make these now?" Kenji said in a confused tone unable to believe the reason for why she would do that. 'Wait! What if this is another part of her clever ploy?! By introducing new talisman, she intends to make me become dependent on them, and in turn, her! Genius! Of course, this is just what I would expect from someone called a goddess.'

Sure, that he figured out Kaguya's intention, Kenji took the slip of paper and added it to his collection. He was not in a position to refuse, and he was sure that she knew that too, so why be stubborn and say no. Pride? Ha! Nope, he would gladly throw away his pride if the situation demand.

"I'll have to make sure to place more offerings for her," Kenji thought as he paid respects to her.

Now that that was solved, Kenji could focus on more important things, such as how he would get his money back. He thought that maybe he could ask for the money back from the girl but left that train of thought immediately.

"I think I need a nice hot bath before I do anything else. Akame! Bath time!" the small boy said as he called out to her.

Kenji could immediately feel his mood improve after the bath. He dried Akame's fur with a towel and dressed her up in her regular custom kimono. Kenji looked at the mirror over the sink and finally noticed the length of his hair. It was now long enough to reach the small of his back, grabbing a strand that came over his face he looked thoughtful, "You know, now that I think about it, I've never had an actual haircut before. I hardly notice it since I always keep it in a ponytail, but it sure has gotten long."

He decided to put the matter off until it was more urgent, he wasn't one to care about his own appearance, unless it was to make money.

He dressed in a set of white pants and a colorful blue kimono shirt.

Taking out a large white cloth, Kenji spread it in the center of the room, then he called out the large fermentation tank he had gotten yesterday from his ring.

Placing a hand on its worn-down wooden surface he mentally called up its information.

 **Fermentation tank**

 **Quality: Normal**

 **Defense: 354**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 40**

'Strange. I can feel residue emotions coming from the tank. It must have absorbed them from the sake masters. Could this be the result of Ninshu? Did I actually learn it yesterday?' Kenji thought as he closed his eyes and tried to connect with the left-over emotions.

Immediately he was able to see the image of the much younger sake master, stirring the pot with a huge smile on his face despite being covered in sweat. The desire to want to make something delicious had been strong enough to become imbedded into the tank.

Unknown to him, the reason why he was able to see an object's past was a result of his affinity for being able to control the nature energy located in objects. His Upgrade System did this automatically, so he had never noticed before.

Tapping the old tank fondly Kenji let loose his chakra. "Don't worry friend, you'll get your chance to shine again."

Kenji was able to upgrade it 7 times before he took out a Craftsman Talisman, since it was usually around this area where things began to get tricky.

From his experience the probability of an item getting upgraded got harder with each level. For example, upgrading items kind of went like this:

0-6 90%

6-7 75%

7-8 50%

8-9 25%

9-10 12.5%

And so on.

Every new level would cut it chance by half. The chances of an item getting upgraded to level 14 was less then 1%. Even with the liberal use of good luck talisman, Kenji didn't even have a tenth of the items he had upgrade and as a result he had an abundance of chakra dust which he kept in different storage rings. He had learned from his mistakes and was determined to keep a closer eye on his supply.

Unfortunately, he could only use one talisman at a time. So, he used the upgrade versions of the talisman whenever he passed level 10.

Taking a deep breath he pressed his hand onto the tank and activated the talisman. It would boost the chances of success by 50%, meaning that chance of upgrading it from a level 7 to 8 would now be at 75%, instead of the original 50%.

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

'Good, it looks like it will hold up. Let's see how far you can go,' Kenji thought as he prepared another talisman.

He gave a mental prayer as he injected more of his chakra.

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

"Good. Good. Just one more. You can do it buddy," Kenji encouraged it, as he calmed his nerves. This was usually the most worrisome part. It was always hard to see an item crumble into dust before his eyes. He had lost track of how many times he had to feel the bitter taste of disappointment when a treasured weapon or object was destroyed. That soul wrenching sensation of knowing that he would never be able to see that item ever again, almost like losing an old friend. It never got better no matter how many times he did it.

Closing his eyes, he forced his chakra into it with a battle cry, "Arggggggggg!"

He waited a few seconds, and only opened his eyes when he still felt something underneath his hand.

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 **Fermentation tank +10**

 **Quality: Mid-Human**

 **Defense: 354**

 **+800**

 **10+: Food and ingredients placed inside will absorb the ambient nature energy making it taste better as well as provide better nutrition.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 400**

Letting out a breath of relief Kenji inspected the tank again. Some items that reach Level 10 had the tendency to change their outer appearance, especially those that had acquired enough kami.

The tank had transformed from wood and iron into a large white ceramic pot with green engravings half its original size. Though, it was still big enough to let a normal sized person bath in it. Anyone that saw it, would immediately declare that it must be a masterpiece made by the world's best craftsman.

"Looks good, how about we test it out Akame," Kenji said to his fluffy companion that had left the warmth of the bed to look at what he had been doing. "It says that it's supposed to make food and ingredients more delicious."

'…cheap-'

"What? You think this some attempt to go back on my promise?" the greedy boy said in indignation. 'Damn. She saw right through me.' "I told you already that I would take you out to eat. I am offended that you would think that!"

Akame looked at him with skeptical eyes, an amazing feat for a bunny.

Kenji couldn't meet her unflinching stare and turned his head to the side, "Tch. Fine, be that way."

Looking at the majestic pot, he thought of an idea. He took out the two sake barrels that he had gotten as a reward from yesterday. Each had 18 Liters, so a total of 36 liters were poured into it, but even that looked insignificant when compared to its size.

"There. I'm not sure how long this is supposed to take, so why don't we go out to eat and come back later?" he told his furry companion, who excitedly ran to the door wagging her cotton tail in excitement.

Momentarily offering a prayer to his wallet, Kenji gave the pot one last look and shut the door behind him.

The inside of the pot began to give a faint glow, as the liquid inside began to stir itself.

 **(Hokage Tower)**

"As I was saying, it is an honor to have you here Daimyo-sama," Hiruzen said as he sat opposite of their Country's ruler.

To either side of him were his old teammates Homura and Koharu. Danzo was purposefully absent on account of the Lady Shijimi's recent dislike for him.

The Fire Daimyo was accompanied by one of his chief advisors and one of his personal guards.

"Please Lord Hokage, no need for formality, I get plenty of that back at the Capital," the man said in a jovial tone as he tried to wave his customary fan, only to once again remember for the umpteenth time that day that he no longer had it.

He gave a sad sigh at the lack of fan, but his wife had been adamant on leaving it behind.

'What is wrong with his face?'

All three shinobi thought to themselves as they took a careful look at the man's appearance.

The current Daimyo was not someone you might call handsome, in fact he looked rather plain compared to most nobles, but the current him looked even worse than normal. He had dark circles under his eyes with sunken cheeks and pale skin. His usually shaved face also had the beginnings of a 5 o'clock shadow, making him looked scruffy. The traditional white and blue robes worn by daimyos was absent, instead being replaced by some red and yellow silk robes with an elaborate headpiece in the shape of a phoenix.

Yet despite all of this, there was still a bright twinkle in his eyes. The trio thought that he looked the happiest than they had ever seen him before.

"Right. Well anyways, I apologize for the lack of preparation, but we were not expecting a visit to be honest. If there is something with which we could help you with, you need all but ask," the Hokage said, curious for the reason as to why the Daimyo, who was famous for rarely leaving the safety of the Capital, would come to the Hidden Leaf. More over, why a large number of nobles had seen fit to follow as well. Usually those stuck-ups noblemen would never come to a 'backwater village of murders,' as some of them would say, without good reason.

"Haha, it's nothing serious I assure you. But my wife has recently taken a shine to one of your shinobi," the man said with a grin on his face.

Getting an idea where this was going Hiruzen couldn't help but ask, "Might I ask what their name is?"

Still looking cheerful the Daimyo spoke, "Yes, I believe his name is Kenji Yamamoto. My wife says that the boy is genius at his craft, I was hoping I might meet him as well."

'Kenji Yamamoto?' Homura and Koharu thought to themselves as neither one of them had ever heard of that particular shinobi before.

The only one that wasn't confused was Hiruzen as he had expected that. He had been sure to keep all information on the boy a secret, even from the rest of the council.

Stroking his beard in a slow motion, Hiruzen responded, "Ah yes, Kenji. If I'm not mistaken, I believe he is still an academy student at this moment, although he is scheduled to take the genin exam in a few days."

Immediately after he said that, the Third could feel two piercing glares from his former teammates, no doubt they would demand an explanation about this later.

The plain looking man put on a thinking face and began to mutter out loud, "Hmm. I suppose it would be best to postpone our meeting until after the test. No doubt it will only cause excessive worry if we were to meet him now." Looking at the Third with a smile he inquired, "Do you think it would be at all possible for my wife and I to observe the exam Hokage-sama?"

Although it was phrased as a question, Hiruzen knew there was only one answer that the Daimyo wanted to hear, "Of course Daimyo-sama, I'll be sure to take care of it."

"Splendid! My wife will be overjoyed by the news," he said clapping his hands together like a child that had gotten their way.

"I see, if I might ask, but where is Madam Shijimi?" Koharu asked, as it was usually the Daimyo's wife that headed these meeting.

"Ah, she is currently entertaining the many young noble ladies that chose to accompany us," the childish leader said, as he gained a far away look thinking of his wife.

Like a gong, all three shinobi felt their stomach drop.

The only thing worse than Nobles were the children of those Nobles. At least the adult still had something that resembled self-control, but many of their kids had yet to feel the vicious sting of life and were what many shinobi described as 'self-intitled, arrogant, little shits.'

And now there were a bunch of those little bastards in their village, all three could already feel the growing headache.

'Please Kami-sama, let nothing big happen.'

 **(Scene change)**

'My poor wallet,' Kenji lamented as he opened it up and momentarily imagined a stack of ryo bills with a tiny halo and angel wings fly into the light.

As he promised, he had bought Akame her precious meal, an all you can eat buffet with the main dish being an entire roasted pig.

The waiter looked a little horrified when he saw the cute little bunny finish the entire meal by herself. Kenji had opted to have a glass of water and some bread.

Walking into his room, he placed the sleeping Akame on the bed, her stomach was slightly bulging.

Taking out five roasted ducks, he dropped one in each of the darkly tinted aquarium tanks placed to one side of the room. They rattled behind the tarp, and he could already hear the crunching of bones and slurping of juices.

These were some of the chakra beast that he had managed to capture. Since his run in with the 'bear brothers' he had been attacked a handful of times. None had been as strong as the bears, but some of their abilities had managed to surprise him. Those he could use to make a profit were captured and the rest were killed. Some had a chakra crystal while others didn't, bringing his count to 4. He had 2 fire types, 1 wind type, and 1 earth.

He found a couple of uses for them already, but he was hoping to use one to make a better weapon after his last one had been destroyed.

He turned to the large bath sized pot and peeked over the edge to see the contents below. Most of the sake that had been in the pot had disappeared, and only a small fraction of the liquid was left.

Frowning slightly, Kenji took out an empty bottle and using his perfect chakra control, used it to scoop an adequate amount to fill it.

He got a new message.

 **Lion Breath Sake**

 **Quality: Low Human**

 **\+ Sake that fills you with vitality. Too much and your agility will decrease.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: N/A**

"Wow. This is the first time that I got a message for something like food. Maybe I can sell it," He contemplated as he took out more empty bottles and slowly began to fill them up one by one.

He was left with 6 bottles in total.

Unfortunately, he didn't know if it was any good, as he didn't have much experience in drinking, and the only one he had was from the memories of Adult Kenji. He would need to find a professional drunk to see if it was actually good. Damn, where was Tsunade when you needed her.

Still, the job of a merchant was never ending, and with a sigh he put on an apron and headed to the kitchen. There was still a lot of experimenting to do.

 **(Scene change)**

"… and that was what happened after the Kyubbi attack," Kenji explained to his patron goddess.

Kaguya looked a little sad, after hearing the fate of the tailed beast. They were technically a part of her, or more precisely they were part of the God Tree.

This was Kenji's third time visiting the Rabbit Goddess, making him able to read her a little better.

He had expected her to be cold and uncaring, so he was surprised to see so many emotions when he would tell her the history of the world. She had looked very sad when he had to recount all of the wars that had taken place.

'It would seem that humans will wage war, no matter the era. It pains me to think that my chakra is being used for such absurd reasons,' Kaguya said with a melancholy look.

Floating closer to her face, Kenji tried to gain her attention, "Do not worry so much My Lady. Look on the bright side. At least this way, they will be strong enough to fight back your clansmen-"

Immediately, Kenji's eyes shot open at what he had let slip.

Kaguya on the other hand had a triumphant look in her eyes as she gave him a sly smile.

'Damn it! I let my guard down.'

Gulping down his nervousness, Kenji looked into the smug face of the goddess.

'And tell me Kenji-san, how do you know this? I also seem to recall you avoiding my question during your first visit here. So would you mind answering me this time? How _did_ you know about me?'

Immediately the roles had changed.

Kenji had turned into the scared bunny being cornered by the large cat.

* * *

 **A/N: Gotta say, this was a long chapter.**

 **So the next one will have the actual genin test for Kenji and the rest of the reserve kids.**

 **I'm glad to see so many comments.**

 **I got the idea for the talismans from this one show. Try to guess which one it is.**

 **Any who, I was finally able to write Kaguya into the story. I had trouble with her character because we didn't really see much of her in the manga or anime. I'm trying to make her seem aloof but with that underlining layer of tenderness that she showed when she was fighting Team 7. I'll try to flesh out her character the more I go. Expect a couple more misunderstandings between Kenji and her.**

 **I showed a little bit more on the process of making an artifact, so I hope that helped.**

 **So noblemen came to Konoha.**

… **Yeah let that sink in. Kenji will show no mercy. Mwahahahaha!**

 **A quick shout out to 'mermizle' who was able to guess what I was going to do with the sake. Good job man.**

 **I'll be sure to bring back Aiko later in the story, and maybe dedicate a chapter of her own journey after she parted with Kenji.**

 **Anyways hope you enjoyed it. Until next time.**


	11. New Power

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references that you might notice in this fanfic.**

 **A/N: I'd like to start off by saying that I am sorry for the long update. I'm usually really busy at the end of the month due to my job. Hopefully this chapter can make up for it.**

 **I'm glad that a lot of you like the way that I am making the story. Some of you have some really interesting ideas too.**

 **A quick shout out to some.**

 **deadkid23: You got it in one. The talisman are from Jackie Chan Adventures. I modified them a bit, but they will mostly function the same.**

 **coldblue2015: You're analyzes of Kenji and Kaguya I feel are pretty spot on. I will answer some of your questions in the following chapters.**

 **Aesop: Cotton-tailed beast. Hahaha, that's pretty good. I might put that somewhere in the story later.**

 **SnapDragon21: Thank you for the shining compliment, I hope to live up to your expectations**

 **sernn: Wow. Just wow. Even if you say you aren't creative enough, this clearly shows that you are. A lot of your ideas are good, and you should definitely give writing it a try.**

 **Now a lot of you asked why Kenji doesn't just eat the dust. The reason is that it is basically crystalized nature chakra. Eating it would most likely turn him into stone. The reason why animals like Akame can eat it, is because they use a passive form of sage art that absorbs it into themselves. With a bit more practice using ninshu and Kenji will be able to learn sage mode from Akame and the other chakra beasts.**

 **Anyways, here is the next chapter. Hope my portrayal of Kaguya does her character justice. (PS: you might want to google what a Pekingese is if you don't already know)**

 **Chapter 11**

"I don't suppose we can just pretend that I'm crazy, and move past this?" Kenji said with somewhat hopeful eyes.

Kaguya merely looked at him with a steady expression and answered in a mock disappointed tone, 'Unfortunately not. I'm afraid you've proven yourself to be quite sane so far.'

"You don't know that! I could be a complete nutcase in the real world!" he argued childishly.

'Oh no, I'm sure you're a very well-mannered boy out there too,' Kaguya reassured him.

"I'm not actually! I've been told that I'm the worst kind of person by a lot of people!" he confessed in serious manner. It was true too, usually muttered by customers that had to leave his shop with empty wallets.

'I'm sure they just haven't gotten to know you,' she countered easily.

The small boy looked frustrated in her trust in him, "I constantly think of new was to take money from people."

'You're a merchant, so that's expected.'

"I rarely care about other people's feelings."

'It will do you good to stick to your own values.'

Kenji gained a tick mark at the back of his head at the casual way that she was dismissing his flaws.

Taking a deep breath he began to speak in a fast manner, "I constantly sell regular items many times their actual worth-

'You have an eye for business.'

"-I steal food from the school's cafeteria-'

'You're resourceful.'

"-I have little to no social skills that isn't related to business-"

'So you're shy.'

"-my only friend is a temperamental rabbit-"

'I'm rather fond of rabbits.'

"-I'm responsible for the creation of the chakra beast currently roaming the earth!"

"…Aww man," Kenji slapped a hand to his forehead at his blunder. 'How is it possible that I keep letting my guard down around her. I should be scared out of my mind, but I don't. I feel calm and open around her, almost as if she-'

Snapping his eyes in her direction, he could see the edge of her mouth hick up slightly, almost as if to confirm his suspicion.

"…Ninshu," he whispered his theory under his breath.

Kaguya gave him a sarcastic slow clap. 'Correct, Kenji-san. While it might have been a failed attempt by my traitorous son to bring peace, I will admit, it has its uses,' she said in offhand manner.

"…How?"

'Ninshu is a two-way street. This was how I knew you meant me no harm. Otherwise I would have erased you from the beginning,' she admitted nonchalantly.

Gulping back his nervousness Kenji couldn't help but ask, "I thought you said, that you only had as much power as I gave you?"

'Indeed. I did not speak false words. But you must have realized it by now. You have always subconsciously thought of me as more powerful than yourself. Perhaps it was not your intention, but it was enough for me to gain partial control of this mindscape.'

She demonstrated this by waving her hand and making the walls disappear around them, including the door. They were now standing on the barren surface of the moon, the earth floating peacefully above them.

Kenji chuckled sarcastically, "I see. I should have known. It was my mistake."

Snapping her fingers, she made the walls appear once more, before extending an open hand in his direction.

Giving an air of defeat, the small boy landed on her hand and sat cross-legged, "I suppose there's no point in postponing it any longer."

'While I did enjoy the banter, I think I've waited enough for an explanation,' she said looking as calm as ever.

"Alright, I'm ready. What did you want to know My Lady?"

'How did you know about me and my clan?'

Kenji let out a sigh, "Oh boy. A hard one right from the start. I guess I should start from the beginning."

'That would be best.'

"… I suppose I should explain a couple things first." Standing up, he introduced himself, "(Gulp) I am Kenji Yamamoto, and I am five months old."

While she didn't show any outward change, Kenji could sense her incredulous at his statement, still he continued, "As far as I can tell, I am the fusion of two people, and while I had no memories of my own, I did inherit theirs."

'Hmmm, so a combination of wills. Perhaps you are similar to Zetsu, it is a being I created that was made of both Shinju's and my own will,' she gave her own input.

Filing that important piece of information later, Kenji continued, "…Right? When I woke up I had two separate memories. The first belonged to the original owner of this body, a ten year old boy that was training to be a shinobi. The other…"

'Yes, go on.'

"The other came from someone that belonged to a dimension different from our own," he confessed with the upmost seriousness in his eyes.

While Kaguya once again did not show any obvious reaction to this information, she was in fact stunned. The only people she knew that could travel between dimensions were herself and her clansmen. 'And I take it that you got the majority of your information from them.'

"In a manner of speaking, yes. …This person that made up half of myself, lived in a world far different than our own. …I don't suppose you know of a way for me to show you, My Lady? It would be far easier," he asked, seeing as she had the most control here.

Kaguya waved her empty hand once more and a large white canvas appeared in front of them. 'Touch it while thinking of the desired memory.'

Doing as he was told, Kenji placed a hand on the empty canvas and tried to bring up the memories he wanted to show her.

Immediately color began to bleed from its surface, forming the picture of a bustling street in the middle of Tokyo. Metal carriages were moving without horses. Tall structures made of glass and metal reached the heavens. Huge colorful billboards hung from buildings. People or all shapes and sizes were peacefully walked down the street with strange devices stuck to their faces.

Kaguya couldn't help but place a hand on the image, fascinated by this strange new world. It looked so utterly alien to her, yet there was a certain kind of underline beauty in it.

"I am still unsure how it was possible, but a man was able to write down the events from our own world. He published his work in the form of entertainment, a fictional story to be precise," Kenji continued, unaware of the goddess's mesmerized look.

Another image began to emerge from the canvas, replacing the previous one. This one showed the cartoon-ized illustration of her and her son's.

She gave a small frown, '…These drawings are very basic.'

"I doubt anyone could capture your dazzling beauty My Lady," he complimented her shamelessly, "And as I said, it is a form of entertainment book, usually aimed for children such as myself. Konoha has a couple of these too."

He showed her different pictures of events that would happen.

"Most of the information I have, I got from these memories," Kenji explained.

Looking at him closely, she began to see how invaluable he actually was, 'Then I take it that you know what will come to pass?'

This time the small boy shook his head, "Unfortunately no. I only have memories of a 'probable' future. Just knowing the future can cause ripple effects that could completely change the outcome. To be honest, I'm unsure of the stability of the future since I am an unknown factor."

'Does that worry you?' the goddess asked curiously.

Shrugging his shoulders, he answered in a carefree manner, "I suppose just as much as any other person. If anything, it gives me comfort. It means that it is possible to change the future, whether for good or bad is still up for debate, but at least that's better than being on a set path."

It had never been his goal to preserve the future perfectly. The only thing that mattered to him was that the main heroes would be strong enough to fight the Otsutsuki clan. The events leading up to it could be the same or completely different, just so long as the result was the same. That was why he never even thought of fixing the world or trying to stop the Moon-Eye Plan. Kenji as an outsider had a unique perspective and could see the bigger picture. The Fourth Shinobi War would be the place for the entire world to prove that they were ready to play in the big leagues. It would be the stage for the world's protectors to stand up. Hardship breeds success after all. They needed to overcome obstacles to grow stronger.

'You're feeling sad. Why?' she asked confused at his sudden change of mood.

Kenji debated whether it would be a good idea to show her, her own future, "…Perhaps it would be best if I showed you what your will has been doing while you were sealed away."

Immediately he began to tell her of the Moon-eye plan, before he could chicken out.

He explained the history of the shinobi world and how Zetsu played a key part in its creation, the reincarnations of her grandchildren Asura and Indra, and Madara's plan to place the world in the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Then he began show her how things would have originally unfolded, with Akatsuki declaring war on the entire world, Madara's revival, the rebirth of the Ten Tails, Zetsu's betrayal, her own resurrection, her defeat by Naruto and Sasuke, the formation of the shinobi alliance, and finally her clansmen invasion.

Kenji was mentally exhausted when he finished. Braving himself a peek at her face, he was astonished to see that despite her maintaining a stoic face, there were actual tears threatening to spill from her eyes. He hoped that wasn't the case, because he was directly underneath them, and he didn't want to get flattened by their weight.

'So it would appear that all of the worlds conflict was indeed caused by me. That's … disheartening,' she said coolly, a small amount of bitterness slipping through.

He chimed in, "Not directly."

She looked at him stoically before adding, 'But you do agree that it was my fault, even if it was indirectly.'

Kenji broke in a cold sweat, unsure as to how to respond.

"My Lady, I'm sorry if I'm speaking out of line, but yes. Frankly, many of these problems could be traced back to your initial arrival. …But you are also wrong. Although I might only be a few months old, there are somethings I've learned in my short time of life, and that is that everyone makes mistakes," Kenji said trying to pour every ounce of sincerity through their connection.

"You did the best you could Kaguya-sama. When you arrived, the world was already in chaos, where war was common. You tried to fix this broken world, and I thank you for that, not because you succeeded, but because you tried. Not many people can say they did."

"…then where did it go wrong," she questioned him, for the first time speaking out loud.

Kenji would normally be happy to hear such a melodic voice if only it didn't sound so utterly heartbroken.

"As I said before Kaguya-sama, but you tried to fix something that can never be fixed. Humans are flawed by nature, they make no sense, they are just as likely to love someone as they are to betray them. But just as they are capable of great wickedness they are equally capable of great compassion. I can not say what you did was wrong, because it would not change a thing," Kenji felt tears spill from his eyes. They were not because he himself was sad but because Kaguya's aguish was beginning to spill into their connection.

"At the time, you did what you felt was right. It is not my place to pass judgment, since I would not know what to do either. Whether it was good or bad does not matter to me, what matters is that you did it with the best of intentions," Kenji declared bravely, before he had to lunge to the side to dodge the giant water drop.

Dusting himself off, he looked into her white pearl like eyes and began to comfort her, "I know it was not what you wanted Kaguya-sama, and it probably wasn't what they wanted either, but you did give them what they needed. You gave them the tools and the motive to grow stronger, just like any mother would. You spent countless years worrying about the safety of the world, but you no longer need to do that. The earth has grown strong in your absences, but know you have a choice in front of you My Lady."

"And what is this choice?" she asked looking flattered by his portrayal of her.

"You can continue to look over the world as the dotting mother you have been all of these years or-"

She unconsciously leaned in closer to hear him, "Or?"

"Or you can trust them. You can trust that they will be strong enough to meet every challenge head on and emerge victorious," Kenji stated seriously.

Kaguya was stunned at his simple answer.

She had always looked over the earth, even before her ascend into godhood, waiting for the day that her clan would bring terror to the world. As hard as tried, she couldn't remember an instant where she hadn't felt the constant feeling of worry.

Wait. She did remember something. Of simpler times when she had didn't have the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Those long walks in the countryside with Tenji as they discussed their lives. The late-night star gazing with her attendant Aino. The festivals that were held during fall. The laughter and smiles that the three shared. They helped lessen the burden she felt. Made her come to love the earth for all it had to offer, making her feel glad for coming to this planet.

Each memory she recounted brought her both pain and joy, knowing that she would never be able to see them once more. Never be able to apologize or tell them exactly what they meant to her.

A stream of endless tears began to fall down Kenji's cheeks as the feelings of anguish and happiness began to overwhelm him. The room began to reflect their mental state as the lights began to dim with the walls turning blue, and it starting to fill with water.

The small boy began to look nervously around the room, "Umm Kaguya-sama I don't mean to interrupt your flashback but the room is-"

The words got stuck in his throat when he saw that the almighty goddess was openly weeping in front of him. She looked so human. For the first time, Kenji was able to see behind the layers of stone and into the person hidden underneath.

Unsure if what he was about to do would get him killed, he took the risk, and embraced one of her long slender fingers. He stretched his arms as far as they could reach and pressed his face against her soft white skin, in what could be considered a hug. Frankly he wanted to be a little higher with the water starting to fill the room, but he was sure that clinging to one of her horns was bound to get him killed on the spot.

This went on for some time, and it was only after he was ankle deep in water that the tears finally stopped.

As she looked down at him, trying to desperately climb higher on her finger, his image was overlapped by her another, Aino.

With a wave of her hand she vanished the water.

"I thank you Kenji Yamamoto. You have given me much to think about. As a reward I shall bestow on you a gift of your choosing?" Kaguya said with a recomposed expression.

Kenji meanwhile was stunned. He had never even considered the possibility that Kaguya would give him his power. Already his mind was cycling through various powers that would be extremely useful.

Kamui would allow him to store infinite things his private dimension without worry of it getting stolen, plus instant teleportation.

Wood release would help him grow the plants for his products and reduce the cost by 96%.

Crystal release was basically the same thing as printing out money.

The creation of all things technique would be the most useful for his crafting.

Yet despite all of the profit he would be able to make from these abilities, there was a certain power in the back of his mind that refused to go away.

Kaguya was able to see the various abilities flash in his mind, their connection having grown stronger. What surprised her, was that he had no desire to use those abilities to harm others, despite that being their purpose, and only thought of using them to help. She couldn't help the wistful smile as she mentally thought of how he was so much like Aino.

The room began to shake as she let time flow normally.

Looking at the room in confusion, Kenji saw her giving him a mysterious smile, "Huh?"

"It would seem that you have chosen your gift. But now, it would be best for you to wake up. Until we meet again Kenji Yamamoto."

Kenji wasn't even given enough time to respond as the world vanished into darkness.

(Kenji room)

"Wait!" he yelled as he stood up from his bed and got his feet tangled up in the blanket causing him to fall on the floor. "Oof!"

Akame, who had gotten used to his weird wake ups, glared at him with one of her crimson eyes before burying deeper into the mess of blankets where the harsh rays of sun couldn't reach her.

Getting up he headed to the bathroom and began to inspect himself, trying to see if there was some notable change.

"Aww man, she really did choose that one," Kenji lamented as he looked at the white sun mark located on his right shoulder. "Damn you survival instinct, why did you have to butt in now."

The power he had been thinking about was the yang mark that Naruto had gotten at the end of the series from the Sage of Six Paths. It's ability to heal people on contact was something that Kenji had desperately yearned for.

He did have his healing items and medical ninjutsu, but they had their own limitations. For example, the items only worked if you had enough chakra to supply it with, while medical ninjutsu needed an extensive understanding of the human body. Both could also only accelerate the healing process meaning it was impossible for them to regrow entire body parts or cure genetic diseases.

The Yang Seal apparently didn't have that problem since it was able to regrow Kakashi's eye and stabilize Gai after the he used the Eight Gates. Kenji, being the pragmatic that he was, wanted this ability on the off chance that he ever lost an important body part or was just on Death's door.

It was a great ability; the only problem was that he couldn't make money off it. This was a godly ability after all, so he wanted to keep it a secret for as long as possible and only use it as his finally trump card.

 **Chakra: Genin**

 **Chakra Points: 3,200/3,200**

"Holy- My chakra reserves increased by more than 1,000 points! I take it back, this is pretty cool!" Kenji said with an excited smile on his face.

Looking at the mirror again, he noticed something he missed, "Hmm, did I get better looking?"

Kenji's appearance had indeed changed somewhat. His face had become softer making him look more feminine. It was the sort of androgynous look that all xianxia male characters were known for.

The young boy frowned at his reflection, which looked closer to a cute pout, "This might be a problem. How can anyone take me seriously if they think their talking to a small child!"

He chose to ignore the irony in that statement. "Maybe I can wear a disguise. Wait!"

Getting a monkey talisman from his space ring, he brought it to his head, and his image flashed white before it was replaced with that of his past porky self. The familiar belly and slanted fox eyes brought a smile to his face. Then he got one of those fake Kung-fu Master beards and glued it to his face.

"There, now no one will be able to recognize me. I should make this my official look when I go on missions, that way no one will be able to recognize me when I'm in my civilian outfit. Last thing I want are assassins in my shop …unless they are there for business of course," he said.

It could use a few more touch ups but he could probably pull of that whole kung-fu master look. He could claim that his small size was because he got that old person disease, which cause people to shrink. He was pretty sure that Onoki had it.

He put the limit on the talisman for a few days just to be safe.

Seeing as he wasn't going to get anymore sleep, the newly fat academy student began to prepare for the test that awaited him. The entire thing was supposed to consist of a written test, a physical test, and a practical test. They were told to pack for a two-day trip but Kenji was bring along everything he owned. He had enough weapons and armor to fit a small army.

He walked to the glass cages and took off the sheet that was covering them. Inside were five strange looking animals. These were the chakra beasts that he had managed to capture.

Using his newly acquired skill of ninshu, Kenji had been trying to connect to them in the same way that he had connected with Akame.

The first of the beast was a green bipedal lizard named Drago. It was a level 1 chakra beast, with the power to blend into whatever environment he wished by turning invisible. This was also the same lizard that had attacked him openly in his shop. Kenji hoped to gather enough of his shed skin and make an invisibility cloak.

Next was Dewdrop, a giant colorful butterfly with a wingspan of two feet and whose wings looked like they were made of mosaic tiles. She was able to launch poisonous dust from her wings that was capable of killing an averaged sized boar in seconds. The reason why Kenji had captured her, was because she was able to secret a special type of silk from her mouth that was not only extra durable, but also chakra conductive. He had already started to collect spindles of the stuff, and with a few more experiments he would be able to make some clothing from the silk.

The next beast was a Japanese rhinoceros beetle that was a foot tall and whose exoskeleton looked to be made out of old petrified wood, the horn on its face was also replaced with a healthy-looking tree branch that was in full bloom. Its name was Stumpy.

Kenji walked over to Stumpy's cage and opened the lid. Immediately the large beetle un-furrowed its wings in warning before a stern glare from Kenji made it back down. Then it just turned its back with the wings still full exposed, letting Kenji extract the cone like seeds that were growing out of the holes in its back.

When it felt threatened Stumpy would launch out the seeds like tiny missiles at the enemy, binding them in a cocoon of rapidly growing vines. It could also launch a hallucinogenic pollen from the flowers growing out of it's horn that stunned opponents for some time.

After collecting the seeds and some of the pollen, Kenji moved to the next aquarium tank, and unlike the others, this one had an actual fish inside.

Silvy, he called the giant koi fish that barely fit inside the reinforced tank. The reason he called it Silvy was due to the metallic scales that covered every inch of her body like some sort of armor. The fish scales were actual metal though, and not even his strongest kunai could penetrate it. In the water she was force to be reckoned with as she was able to inflate itself like a blow fish with the scales standing out of her body to protect her.

Yet despite her ultimate defense she was still just a fish. Kenji had been able to drag her out of the water with some bait and simply waited until she suffocated before transferring her to a tank. He had discovered that her scales were made up of a special metal that when introduced to certain chakra elements would take on those same properties. He had decided to call this metal, Koi Steel or K-Steel.

The only problem was that it had already been a few weeks since he taken some of her scales to make himself some armor and weapons, yet they still didn't show a sign of growing back. It was a shame, because Kenji thought that she looked rather beautiful when he had first seen her.

Pulling the sleeve of his right hand up Kenji wanted to test his new Yang Seal and hopefully regrow her lost scales.

Medical ninjutsu was mainly made up of yang chakra that was used to revitalize the body. So his new power would hopefully give a boost to all yang related techniques too.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to focus on using his new power, and was pleasantly surprised when his hands began to glow green without him having to weave a single seal. "Yes! Now I can use medical jutsu without wasting time on hand seals."

Sticking his right hand into the fish tank Kenji placed a hand on Silvy's back where there was a patch of scale-less skin. He channeled the new chakra into her and was shocked at what came next.

 **[-10 Chakra Points]**

 **Chakra: Genin**

 **Chakra Points: 3,190/3,190**

"Ah! What the heck! My reserves shrank!" Kenji shouted out in concern before looking at Silvy. He was just in time to see the last of her metallic scales grow back. "So that's what it is. I can use the seal to heal but it takes a portion of my reserves as the price. Damn, I new it was too good to be true. Sure, I could gain them back after a night of sleep, but this also means I can't be healing everyone left and right without causing myself harm."

Placing the lid back on Silvy, who was now swimming happily, Kenji moved on to the last of the chakra beasts.

This next lid was special, as the reinforced aquarium had a steel cage inside it that had been melted into place. This was perhaps the most dangerous chakra beast that Kenji had meet so far, not counting Akame.

The sole occupant of this cage was a small fluffy dog, a brown Pekingese to be precise.

He glared at it but it only tilted its head cutely to the side, the various chains holding it in place rattled with the motion. The reason why Kenji was on guard, was because the Pekingese was a level 2 chakra beast, the only one other than Akame so far. It had the power to shapeshift between its true form and that of a normal dog. The darn thing had almost killed them both, with Akame having to rest for a week straight to heal her injuries.

Lin-Lin as he called her, was able to transform into one of those giant guardian lion that looked remarkably close to those found in front of Chinese temples, what westerns called foo dogs. Her fur was a blazing red color with golden curls on her head and tail. She had hard dragon like scales along her underside protecting her exposed stomach, with eyes made out of green jade.

He was able to capture her after her initial sneak attack however.

She was smart enough to know that she was at their mercy for the time being, but also crafty enough to wait for the right moment to strike.

"Are you going to behave?" Kenji said in a threatening tone.

Lin-Lin gave a playful bark then spoke out in a teasing voice that sounded like a young girl, "I might~"

Looking unamused Kenji began to place back the tarp covering her prison, "The I guess you'll stay in the cage for another day?"

"Wait!"

Raising an eyebrow at her, Kenji began to smile, "Yes?"

"…Fine. I'll behave."

"So you want to get out of the cage?"

"I want to get out of the cage!"

"You'll follow my every order?"

"I'll follow all your orders!"

"You'll wear the collar?"

"Back in the cage then-"

"Fine! I'll wear the stupid collar!" Lin-Lin shouted in panic.

"Good," Kenji said before taking the lid off of her cage and retrieving a small necklace from his ring's inventory that was made out of white beads and animal fangs.

 **Binding Prayer Beads 10**

 **Quality: Mid-Human**

 **Defense: 0**

 **Binds an animal as a familiar. (Animal must agree.)**

 **1,400 Defense**

 **10: Can forcibly restrain the familiar in place on command or automatically if it tries to attack the owner.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 430**

Kenji wasn't taking any chances as the he activated the collar. Immediately the necklace came undone as the individual beads glowed white and flew toward the Pekingese's neck where they joined together again.

"Huh? Wait! What was that?" Lin-Lin shouted, not knowing what had just happened.

"That was insurance," Kenji retorted as he began to release her restraints.

It wasn't even a second after he finished her last binding that Lin-Lin chose to attack as she leaped at his neck, ready to rip it out.

She didn't get far as before she could even close the distance, her small body was hit with a massive pull of gravity, sending her crashing into the ground. She felt like the gravity had increased by 15 times its usual amount and was slowly increasing the more she tried to resist it.

"So it does work, that's good," Kenji said with a superior smirk as he looked down at the struggling dog.

With a mental command he dissipated the pressure on her body, allowing her to get back up.

"Sit." Crash!

Lin-Lin was forced to the ground once more.

"I suggest you don't try to attack me again, you little fuzzball," Kenji finished before letting the small dog nurse her bruised pride. This much was the bare minimum needed after all.

While Lin-Lin began to explore her new surroundings, Kenji began to make some breakfast.

"Pee on anything and I'll have you spayed," the fatty merchant said without looking back as he flipped a pancake in the air. Lin-Lin lowered her leg grudgingly.

Akame woke up around this time, and after a brief scuffle with Lin-Lin she sat reluctantly on the small kitchen table.

Kenji placed plates of pancakes, bacon, eggs, hash-browns, and sausages on the table with a jug of orange juice. All of the ingredient had been placed in the fermentation tank, meaning that not only would the food be delicious, but it was also had additional benefits like resorting chakra or increasing reserves for a short time. The entire room was filled with an aromatic smell that made your mouth water.

Kenji set two seats, which were immediately taken up by Akame and Lin-Lin. That however was not the plan, as he immediately picked up the small dog by the scuff of her neck and placed her on the floor.

"Hey, wait! What about me? Where's my food?" she said in outrage.

Kenji pointed to the small bowl on the ground that was filled with dog food, "You don't get to eat on the table."

"What about her?! Why does she get to eat there then?!" Lin-Lin protested as she pointed one of her small paws at Akame.

Akame, who's cheeks were bulging out with food, looked down condescendingly at Lin-Lin as she slowly took another bit of sausage. Kenji looked unfazed by the interaction, "She earned her right to eat with me. You haven't. Now eat your food."

Lin-Lin looked angrily at the brown mess on her plate before taking a small sniff and reluctantly taking a small nibble. Immediately her ears perked up as she began to take larger bite and then she had her whole face in the dog food, with her tail happily wagging behind her.

Kenji gave a sarcastic snort. Of course, it was delicious. He had made it with minced meat and vegetables that were put in the tank after all, and despite it's less than appetizing appearance it still tasted miles better than the ration bars. He was planning on selling pet food in the future so this would be a good test.

Seeing Lin-Lin chowing down, Kenji got a plate full of food and walked over to his shrine. He placed the food in the offering space and gave a bow.

Looking up, he was surprised to see that the food was gone and in their place was a new talisman and a pink bandana.

He picked up the items and immediately looked at their information.

 **Kaguya's Dragon Talisman**

 **Quality: Low-Human**

 **Attack: 500**

 **Sends a powerful fire blast that explodes on contact.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 50**

"Oh? This is the first offensive talisman she has given me. Is she trying to say something with this?" Kenji commented.

 **Kaguya's Treasured Bandana**

 **Quality: Low-Heaven**

 **Defense: Indestructible**

 **Putting it on increase your favor with Kaguya. Allows you to speak with her in your dreams. (Used to belong to $#% )**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 30,500**

"And of course, there's a catch," Kenji said before tying the bandana around his forehead despite it being pink. 'This must be some type of test to see if I am as loyal as I claim to be.'

Kenji threw a kunai behind, preventing Akame from stealing food off his plate. Again.

 **(Scene Change)**

After quickly finishing breakfast, Kenji had ran to the Inuzuka veterinary clinic, to have Lin-Lin registered as his pet and also as his ninja animal like Akame.

After briefly been mobbed by a pack of dogs that had sensed the smell of the pet food, Kenji was able to meet with Hana.

"Okay, just sign here, and that should do it," the young vet said as she placed the paperwork in front of Kenji, who began to read it. "So what's with the new look?" she asked, specifically wondering why he had a fake beard and a pink bandana.

"Huh? Oh, I'm trying to keep my civilian and ninja life separate. Pretty smart huh? I checked the rule book too, there's no law against hiding your face when you take your shinobi license. I got the idea from this one jonin, I think his name was Hatake something," he responded without looking up from the papers and then began to sign them.

Looking skeptical, Hana chose to focus her attention on the Pekingese sitting on the examination table. It was clearly smart from the way that it was inspecting the room, and from the scans she had made, it had chunin level reserves just like Akame. She wasn't sure where the small academy student was getting these weird pets, but she was starting to get concerned. He was a sweet boy, if a little greedy, in her opinion. She didn't want him to get into too much danger if possible.

"There, all done. Oh hey, Hana do you mind testing out a new product," Kenji said as he took out a few cans of his pet food from his ring.

Hana didn't even bat an eye at the strangeness of this since she was aware of his ring's special ability. 'I really want one. Too bad they cost a fortune.' "Oh, it isn't some new armor?"

The small ten-year old shook his head, "Nope, it's this new food I'm experimenting on."

He opened the lid to one of the cans, and immediately a fragrant aroma leaked out.

Hana felt her mouth water, so even without Kenji prompting her, she scooped out a pinch and placed it in her mouth. Immediately her taste buds were bombarded with a furry of flavor that left her stunned. "Damn, this is amazing Kenji. While the appearance might be lacking, the taste is out of this world." Hana smiled as she began to take bigger scoops.

"…Hana?"

"What?"

"That's dog food. I was going to ask if you could give it to some of your nin-ken to see if they liked it."

"…I see …still taste better than the ration bars," she said trying to save the last of her dignity and failing.

"…You know what, I'll just leave these here. I needed to head to the academy anyway? You can tell me the results next time."

"Yeah, you should do that."

Without another word, Kenji left 10 cans of his new product behind.

 **(Academy)**

The trio walked into the nearly empty school feeling calm.

The genin exam for the graduating class was yesterday, so the official school year had ended.

Today were the genin exam for the reserves.

More than 700 genin hopefuls would take the test today. These numbers weren't only made up of these years class, but also students from previous years that hadn't made the cut.

The test could only be taken a maximum of four times before you weren't allowed to anymore. You could take the test at any time, but only before you turned 18. Once you turned 18 and were still considered an academy student, you were taken off the roster and told to find a civilian job.

So not only was Kenji supposed to compete with his classmates, but also others that had experience taking this exam. They no doubt had already prepared for everything, with plenty of acquired skills they learned since graduating.

Still, Kenji was not so easily intimidated, he would make pass this test, get his license, buy the land, sign that book deal, and open his shop, and not even Kaguya would stop him.

He arrived at his assigned classroom and saw that despite it being so early, nearly half the seats were taken. Most of the students were at least 4-5 years older than him. Some turned to give him a passing glance before doing a double take when they saw his ridiculous outfit. He had gone with the fat old Kung-fu Master look. Some snorted at his appearance while others ignored him.

He took a seat in the back. Akame laid on his head while Lin-Lin began to sleep under his seat.

As time went on, the room began to slowly fill in with students. Most had tried the whole badass look by slamming the door open and glaring into the room, but then they would be thrown off when they saw Kenji, leaving them dumbfounded. You would too, if you saw a chubby ten-year-old whose feet didn't even touch the floor, wearing the fakest beard possible and a white rabbit on their head sitting in room full of shinobi.

Kenji ignored all of the stares as he focused on ways to use his new talisman.

'Get ready everyone, I won't hold anything back. I'll crush every single one of you if I have to,' Kenji declared mentally as he stared at all of those in the class that were his competition.

"I like your beard."

Looking to the side, Kenji saw a bespectacled girl that looked to be 16 years old. She had pale blond hair tied into two pigtails and dressed in purple overalls.

"Kenji Yamamoto," he said offering his hand.

She smiled and took his hand, "Tsubaki Yamanaka."

Kenji could sense her honest personality from that simple handshake using ninshu. '…Alright, make that everyone except one.'

He didn't have much time to think more on it before the door was slammed open and a man wearing a jonin vest walked inside and gave them a look. His face immediately lost it's intimidating expression when he saw Kenji's getup.

Remembering what he was supposed to do, he coughed into his fist and opened his mouth to speak, "Alright everyone take your seats. We will begin the written exam in a few short moments."

The game was on.

 **A/N: Done!**

 **I want to clear a few things out.**

 **First of all, armor only protects the area that it covers. Like the mask and bandana for example. They are indestructible, but Kenji isn't. They only protect his face, not his entire body.**

 **Hopefully Kaguya seems more human. Sure, she was a goddess, but she also looked pretty sheltered and lived in a primitive era, so I tried to go with that. Many of the things in the world will be new for her.**

 **I explained a bit more about the shinobi system since we rarely get a look into the side characters' lives.**

 **I think someone asked if Kenji was going to invent the shinobi gauntlet from Boruto. Simple answer is yes. He will create something similar to it but he will use his own method.**

 **In the next chapter I will cover the entire genin exam. Until next time.**


	12. Genin Exam Part 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references in this fanfic.**

 **A/N: I'll answer of few of your questions before I begin.**

 **First of all I'd like to clarify that Kaguya didn't make Kenji her son, if that was what you were thinking. His change in appearance and increase in chakra has to do with Kaguya wanting a powerful and beautiful servant to represent her.**

 **Second he will eventually create mundane artifacts for regular civilians when he opens his shop so the fishing thing could definitely happen. Good job deadkid23.**

 **coldblue2015: You ask some really good questions. Unfortunately I can't give them a definite answer right now since it would spoil what I had planned, but I will say this one thing. Kaguya would be inclined to give him more blessings, if Kenji presented her with better offerings like say the Hero's Water or a Stone of Gelel. She might also give him certain mission or task for him to complete.**

 **Finally, Naruto and Kaguya will unfortunately never meet until the end of the war. (Oh yeah, that's still going to happen obviously.) Plus I'm kinda trying to push Kaguya away from her motherly role and more into that of a deity.**

 **Important: So in this chapter you will finally see one of Kenji's main weapons. He will use it for a majority of the story. It is something he made form the Koi metal.**

 **Now then, on to the chapter.**

 **Chapter 12**

 **(Monitor Room)**

In a circular room found underneath the Hokage Tower dozens of camera monitors covered the walls. Groups of people, that ranged from civilian and shinobi, were franticly scribbling down notes and watching the TV screens.

Each screen showed a different angle of the classrooms in the academy.

It was their job to track everything, from the smallest sneeze to the loudest yawn in order to make sure that no one was cheating in the exam.

In the center of the chamber was a large circular table surrounded by several chairs. In front of these chairs was a small monitor built into the table.

The Hokage had already taken his place at the head of the table. He puffed his pipe as he watched the exam taking place.

It was the obligation of the Hokage and the Clan Heads to observe the genin exams. Seeing as these genin-hopefuls would make the bulk of their army if they were to ever go to war again, it was their responsibility to make sure that they were as strong as possible.

While elites like Minato and the Sannin tended to gain the most recognition, they were the exception not the standard. The reserves were in fact what truly mattered in a war. Sure, elite shinobi could fight like 100 men, but that did not mean that they were 100 men. Eventually they would grow tired, especially in a drawn-out war. No matter how exceptional elites were, they couldn't replace the work of 100 men.

The better quality of their reserves, the stronger their army was, simple as that. It was this reason that cheating was not allowed. Not only would it hurt the shinobi in question, but it would also hurt the village if they were given a mission that was above their abilities.

The Clan Head also used this chance to look at promising clansmen and petition for their promotion should they not pass one of the tests.

Every branch of the village's military from the Research and Development Team to the Torture and Interrogation Force were trying to scout promising talents suited to their department. As such, the competition was fierce, battle auras clashing with each other every so often.

The only ones at the table so far, were the Hokage, and the leaders of the Akimichi Clan, the Nara Clan, and the Yamanaka Clan. The rest had opted to either be proctors or pose as students to have a closer look. Shikaku sat next to Chozu, while Inoichi sat opposite them.

It was then that the entrance to the room was opened and an unlikely person walked in, followed by a large dog.

Shikaku, who was busy trying to take a nap, opened one of his eyes when they sensed the person. He gave her a small smirk, "Ho, this is a surprise. What is the village's infamous Hurricane Wolf doing in the observation room? Don't you usually choose to pose as a student to test the recruits yourself?"

Tsume gave a wolfish smile of her own, as she sat in her seat next to Inoichi and kicked her feet on the table. She had just recently been labeled an A-class threat in the bingo book on account of the new destructive combination techniques that she was able to pull off thanks to Kuromaru. Her nickname Hurricane Wolf was due to the metal jaws that her partner had. "Ha! Not this time. I don't think I could hold back this time. Plus, I'm interested in something else this time."

Choza who was eating a rich ball quirked up an eyebrow at her response. "You've taken an interest in someone? One of your clansmen?"

She tilted her chair backwards as she closed her eyes, "Mah, who knows?" Her grin only got bigger.

"So troublesome," the Nara Head muttered as he closed his eyes, even if his curiosity was peaked slightly.

Before more could be said, the entrance doors opened again.

Two women dressed in light green flowing robes stepped inside, holding the door open as the Daimyo walked inside. At his side was a young slender beauty dressed in clothes similar to the attendants, only it was longer as the tail of her dress lightly trailed on the floor. The color was also a crimson shade with different pieces of silver jewelry hanging of it. Her hair was done in an elaborate hairstyle with a gold hairpin holding it all together. She had a light shade of makeup on her face that emphasized her delicate features.

Tsume leaned toward Inocihi and whispered to him, "Pss, looks like the Daimyo finally got himself a concubine. Didn't think Madam Shijimi would allow that?"

Inoichi gave her a hidden smile and responded, "Maybe now, we can finally stop chasing after her blasted cat?"

Behind them were the two elders, both carrying baffled expressions.

"Check the expression on those old fossils."

The Daimyo smiled at the assembled group.

All the ninja's stood up and gave their respects to him.

"I thank you once again Lord Hokage, for listening to our selfish request," the man said as he looked at Hiruzen.

"It was a simple matter Daimyo-sama. Should Madam Shijimi desire anything else, she need only ask," the aged ninja said as he put away his pipe for the time being.

The ruler of the nation rubbed his thumb over the mystery woman's slender hand in an affection manner. "I'll be sure to do that, isn't that right dear," he said as he gazed lovingly at his wife.

All those in the room froze into statues, metaphoric cracks appeared on them at the startling revelation. Some were able to control their reaction better than others.

Tsume had choked on her own spit as she toppled over her seat and onto the floor.

Hiruzen was glad that he had the foresight to stop smoking the second they walked in, otherwise he was sure that he would be choking on his pipe too. The only ones not affected were Homura and Koharu as they had found out just minutes ago.

Hiruzen sent them a quick message with his eyes, asking if it was true.

Koharu gave him a discreet message using her hand, [It's true.]

"My Lady, I must say, you look rather-"

"Stunning, slender, beautiful. No need to beat around the bush Hokage-sama. I am well aware of my past, let's say, less than charming appearance. I'm not one to let such things hold be back," Madam Shijimi said with a smile grazing her red painted lips.

She looked like a female character straight out of a in wuxia novel. That however was no accident as she had carefully modeled her appearance to one of the characters from Kenji's books.

During her ride to the capitol, she was able to finish the novel, and she had fallen in love with everything in it. The culture that the book had depicted had struck a cord in her. A world where nobles like herself would be able to cultivate themselves in power. A world of immortal beings whose goal was to reach for the heavens. That world had a sense of honor that was so very rare in this one.

The plot of that particular book had followed the adventures of Madam Jade, a young woman that had been born into a declining noble house. Throughout the book, she would be met with various challenges which she was able to overcome with a combination of both power and cunning. Madam Jade was the type of woman that she had always dreamed of being. The romance and political undertone was only icing on the cake in her opinion.

Kenji had been careful in his description of the world, at least enough for Madam Shijimi to get the royal tailors to make some of the clothing from the book.

As the Daimyo's wife she was always the head of any fashion trend. Other noble ladies had always taken to copying her style as a result. Boutiques had started to design and sell these clothing as a result. Soon it was to the degree where if you wanted to be up to fashion, something important to nobles, then you needed to be wearing wuxia style clothing. The entire capital had been turned on its head on just her whims.

It wasn't just noblewomen however.

Palace guards had their old armor replaced, and even the Twelve Fire Guardians were fitted with custom armor to better fit into the trend. Slowly, wuxia culture was bleeding into the Land of Fire.

Even the Daimyo had not been spared from his wife's fickle nature as his entire wardrobe had been replaced and was even ordered to grow a beard of all things. Of course, he was rewarded accordingly for his noble sacrifice. Most days he looked like he had his soul sucked out of him.

Despite this, he was happier than ever, his wife was once again beautiful, and things were back to the way they were before her miscarriage all of those years ago. It was a shame that they couldn't have any children.

Kenji had managed to add some character drawings in the book, which Shijimi had used in combination with the diet pills to slowly shape her bodies features, just like how a mason would shape a lump of marble into a beautiful statue. Her appearance now resembled something similar to Madam Jade. She was of course excited to see Kenji reaction to her transformation. Surely, he would be shocked.

Of course, there were many questions about her miracle transformation from the other ladies in the capital, but Madam Shijimi would just give them a mysterious smile and refuse to answer. As a result, many had followed her to the Leaf Village in order to find out her secret and use it for themselves. Even the simplest of things could turn into a powerplay in the Capital after all.

Taking their respective seats, the Daimyo and his wife turned on their monitor.

Madam Shijimi searched the classroom for her target, "Has the exam started already?"

"Yes, but it's only been a couple minutes. The channel you are searching for is 17 I think," the Hokage said as he switched the channel to his own screen. The other clan heads did the same, curious to what they were talking about.

The hidden camera in the room had a direct view of Kenji.

"Why does he have a beard and a rabbit on his head," Shijimi asked confused, raising one of her expertly trimmed eyebrows.

Tsume gave an unladylike snort at the get up. Hana had told him about the little brat's idea.

Coughing into his fist Hiruzen tried to gain her attention, "I believe he is trying to remain in disguise so as to throw off the competitors."

 **(Classroom)**

The test was moderately difficult, in Kenji's humble opinion with many of the questions pertaining to war.

They ranged from questions asking what plants were native to what county, to writing down the antidotes for some of the more common poisons. Useful information really, with many of the answers being things that weren't taught in the academy. What made it worse was that there was not a single multiple-choice question.

They were also given a 50-page booklet and told to memorize it to the best of their ability, then they were given random phrases from the book and told to write down the page number, the paragraph, and the line it was on. This was to test their information retention skill, since during missions they would need to memorize entire pages of sensitive information in only a couple seconds.

Math, history, and politics were a breeze for Kenji on account of his extra studying.

The only part that he really struggled with was the morality portion of the test. He wasn't sure if he should put down the question that sounded the most right or if he should but down the one that got the best results. He knew that the Leaf Village boasted teamwork and whatnot but what about during war. Wasn't Sakamoto, the White Fang, disgraced because he chose to save his comrades instead of completing the mission.

Either way he was sure that he had managed to pass the test.

They were given a one-hour break with the only rule being that they couldn't leave the room. The proctors would grade the tests in this time and return to announce who would pass on to the next stage.

The people in the class had already split into groups, most already knowing each other from previous times taking the exam so they just took this time to catch up. They told jokes, complained about the test, anything really to alleviate the pressure they were all feeling.

Kenji was no different as he was petting Akame.

"So Tsubaki, is this your second time taking the test?" Kenji asked.

The blonde's mind seemed to be elsewhere as she looked at him with a dazed look, then realized she had just been asked a question. "Ah, Yes! This is actually my fourth time so…" she trailed off at the end.

Kenji got the meaning immediately. This would be her last chance to pass or else be kick out of the program. He didn't know how things worked in a clan, but he was guessing there was a certain pressure placed on children to become shinobi.

Taking a moment to analyze the girl in front of him, he was able to see a few things that stood out to him.

"Congratulations," Kenji said as he turned back to Akame who was laying upside down on his desk playing dead.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Tsubaki asked confused.

The plump child stroked his fake beard in thought, "Your engagement of course. Congratulations."

She was shocked at how he had found out. Her boyfriend had only proposed last night, she hadn't even told her parents yet. "H-How did you know?"

Looking at her with his fox eyes, Kenji began to point at various places on her body, "Your wearing a high collar shirt despite it being so hot outside, most likely to hide the hickies on your neck-"

One of her hands immediately went to her neck, confirming Kenji's theory.

"Your left hand's ring finger has a slight indentation of a ring, but it looks fairly new. Mostly likely he proposed yesterday, and you slept with it on, and only took it off this morning so it wouldn't get damaged during the exam," he explained. Seeing as she didn't deny his claims he went on, "There's traces of blood under your finger nails, and I've noticed you squirming in your seat since the test began, meaning that yesterday was either your first time or that the celebration was extra … rough."

Now Tsubaki was blushing as red as a tomato as he once again guessed right. "Y-you were able to come to that conclusion from just that much?"

"Hmm. Well that and the fact if you had taken the time to notice, you're clearly wearing a guy's shirt under your overalls. Plus, Akame here can smell the scent of someone else all over you," he finished as Akame turned to face the girl and gave her a sly wink. 'Cheeky bunny.'

This was a skill that he had been able to develop from his time using ninshu on people. It was much easier to sell them something if he knew their circumstances after all.

Plus, it wasn't that weird for people to get engaged at such an early age, especially those who came from ninja clans, since death on the job was a very likely possibility.

Thud.

Tsubaki slammed her head on the table, unable to believe it. She was unable to meet his gaze.

"…Thanks."

Kenji continued to have a carefree expression. "You're welcome. I wish you much luck. Have you picked a date yet?" he decided to engage in some small talk now that the ice had been broken with all the grace of a figure-skating hippo.

In no time Kenji and Tsubaki were talking more openly with each other. She would talk about her boyfriend and their dream of becoming shinobi together. Kenji confessed that he was planning to build a shop to sell his wears. Soon the conversation lead into what kind of wedding she wanted to have in a few years.

They were just finishing discussing what types of flowers would look good, when the proctor walked in and began to call out the names of those who passed in alphabetical order.

"-Yamamoto Kenji, and finally Yamanaka Tsubaki. That is all. Those who's names I've called meet outside."

Both Kenji and Tsubaki gave a sigh of relief before smiling at each other.

"Looks like we passed," he said.

The next test consisted of an obstacle race, followed by a shuriken throwing competition, and finished off with the academy jutsu.

'Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!' Kenji mentally cried as he rolled out of the way just as three kunai hit where he had previously been.

He dived into the pit of murky water, a barbed wire net just hanging over the water's surface. He made it to the other side and took a deep breath but even that was cut short as shuriken began to bombard him again.

Climbing to his feet he sprinted to the next obstacle, a vertical wall 25 feet high. They had been forbidden from using chakra, so tree walking was impossible.

He could have jumped it easily even without chakra, but he didn't want to be accused of cheating, so he needed to figure out a new way.

He turned toward the direction of the kunai throwing shinobi.

He didn't have to wait long as three new knives were sent his way, intent on impaling him. He grabbed them out of the air easily and sent two toward the wall with enough force to embed them all the way to the handle.

Using them as footholds he was able to make it half way there. He still had the other one, so he stabbed it into the wall and used it to climb the rest of the way.

Once he reached the top, he jumped down the other side. This was the final stretch. A 100-meter dash to the end goal with 10 shinobi throwing kunai at him from every direction.

Gulping he crouched down low to the ground and pushed off with enough strength to crack the ground under him.

He tried to stick as close the ground as possible, avoiding the land mines hidden under it, as well as trying his best to ignore the sound of explosions behind him.

Kenji was able to dodge most of the projectiles, but those he couldn't he would deflect using the shuriken that he would pluck out of the air.

He crossed the finish line and collapsed on the ground. Doing it without chakra was pure torture. There were more than 30 obstacles in total and each one had been deadly in their own way.

"Yamamoto Kenji. …Pass." That was all that the proctor said before he walked away.

Using a bit of chakra control, he was able to extract the water from his clothes and beard into a ball, dumping to the side. Akame and Lin-Lin had been given a pass since they were considered assessories.

A couple more minutes passed before he was finally able to see Tsubaki cross the finish line. She looked more battered than him. Her clothes were cut up from stray kunai, and the ends of her hair had been singed from an explosive tag.

"Yamanaka Tsubaki. …Pass."

She fell to her knees exhausted.

Kenji got up and handed her a small hand towel from his space ring. "Here."

"Thanks," she said gratefully as she took the towel.

"Just the kunai test and the academy jutsu and we're done."

Wiping her glasses clean, she looked up at Kenji, "Yeah, but the next test is harder than the others. That is usually the part where I fail."

"I'm sure you'll do fine."

 **(Monitor Room)**

"He's holding back."

"What do you mean Shikaku?" Choza asked him.

The lazy Nara yawned as he rewound the video to a particular part of Kenji's obstacle race. "Right, there. It was obvious that he was preparing to make that jump, but he hesitated at the last minute. Instead he chose the more common method of using the kunai."

"So?"

"Ah forget about it, it is too troublesome," the black-haired man gave up as he laid his head on the table for a nap.

Tsume and Madam Shijimi were also looking closely at the video.

Opening one eye, Shikaku gave the monitor on last look before muttering under his breath, "Not likes it's going to matter. The final test isn't something you can pass by hiding after all."

 **(Training ground)**

Nervously Kenji stood among those that had managed to pass the second stage. There were close to 500 people still left.

A shinobi wearing a jonin jacket walked in front of them and began to explain the next test, "Alright, we will now begin the final test. We will now separate you into 20 groups. Squad A …"

As people were being divided, both Kenji and Tsubaki were lucky enough to end up in the same group. Squad D had a total of 20 people including them. The number of people in a group varied, with some just having as little as 10 people, while others had up to 35.

The jonin in charge brought up a table with some equipment that Kenji hadn't seen before. He took out a forehead protector that looked to be made out of hardened clay instead of the usual metal ones. "The next test will be a mock-war. All of you will either be part of the green team or the red team. You will all be given one of these protectors. Inside is a transmitter connected directly to the Hokage Tower. Breaking the protector will send a wireless signal indicating your removal from the final test. Once you are out, you must immediately leave the battleground, no exceptions."

Next he took out a small octagonal clay disk that had the word 'Captain' written on it.

"Each squad will have one captain. They will be given a disk to indicate their stature, they are to keep it on them at all time. Breaking the disk will fail them automatically and the group will be disbanded. The left-over soldiers will then have a choice to either give up or head to another Captain. Only once all captains from one side have been taken out, will the war end. A red or green fire work will be launched into the sky when a captain has been defeated."

The jonin looked at all off them to make sure that they all understood the rules.

"The Captain's have all been chosen randomly. Now Squad A, walk to the table and get your assigned headbands."

Soon it was Kenji's turn to take a forehead protector from the pile.

The ninja at the table gave him a weird look but still wrote down his name. "Yamamoto Kenji, Your ID during the exam will be 322."

Kenji stroked his fake beard and nodded sagely, "Very well."

He replaced the pink bandana that he had gotten from Kaguya and put the green forehead protector on. Seeing as the pink bandana was supposed to be indestructible Kenji wrapped it around his neck to protect himself.

 **Clay Forehead Protector**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Defense: 120**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 24**

Kenji has to hold back a smile as he walked way from the table. They never said anything about modifying the forehead protectors to increase your chances of winning. He walked back to his group and began to upgrade the forehead protector.

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

 _ **Upgrade Successful**_

'Yes!

 **Clay Forehead Protector +6**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Defense: 120**

 **\+ 180**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 58**

'There. Its not that much but I don't want to risk upgrading it anymore, plus they might get suspicious if it were to withstand an explosive tag unharmed.'

When they were all finished, they began to call out the captains. He like the vast majority of those gathered crossed their fingers and prayed that they weren't picked, since not only would everyone be gunning for you, but you also had to manage everyone in the group.

It would seem that Lady Luck had decided to favor him today as he wasn't picked as the Captain.

Unfortunately, Tsubaki looked like she had just been bitch slapped by her.

She took the captain's badge with trembling fingers, and Kenji could feel her mood worsen. He also began to feel worried. She had told him that her weakness had been tactical warfare and planning, meaning she was the worst person to be the Captain.

"-You are to go home and pack for a two-day trip. Meet at the village at 2 o'clock. Dismissed!"

Everyone scattered. Some excited, others nervous. The smart ones would go home and pack for a week-long trip since despite what the jonin had said, it was unlikely that the test would finish in just two days.

"Are you okay?" Kenji asked as he looked up at the blonde girl.

"…Yeah. It's just that this was unexpected," she said in a sad tone.

"Well, don't worry about it too much. I'll help you. Were teammates now after all," Kenji offered honestly.

"…I better go and pack."

As she left, Kenji sensed turmoil from her. Frankly he would to if this had been his last shot to be a shinobi and he was given the worst job suited for him.

Seeing as he already had everything he would need in his spatial ring, he decided to go eat something. Akame was back on his head, with Lin-Lin trailing behind him, curiously smelling everything in sight.

 **(Monitor Room)**

The only person still at the table was the Third Hokage as the Clan Heads and the Daimyo's group had each left for lunch.

Leaning back on his chair Hiruzen took a long drag from his pipe and closed his eyes in bliss, 'Finally so peace and quiet.'

Slam!

"Oy, old man. You never told me I had to pose as an academy student," a black-haired youth shouted as he stormed into the room and glared at the Hokage.

'Well that didn't last long.' "It's good to see you again Jiraiya. Have a seat," the old shinobi offered.

The black-haired boy was shrouded in a white plum of smoke and his appearance changed to that of the famed Toad Sannin. Despite the displeased look on his face, Jiraiya still took the offered seat. "So why am I impersonating some brat. I thought you called me to the village for something important!"

"Well if you had just come to me when you arrived in the village, then I could have explained all of this then," the Hokage countered as he took out a file from a sealing tattoo on his wrist. He placed the file in front of the whitehaired man and decided to get back to smoking.

Cautiously Jiraiya began to read through the file, his face growing more and more incredulous with every page.

"What the fuck has been going on in this village. You're telling me that we lost the Forest of Death to mutated animals and that the one responsible is still out there walking around free because he has the backing of the Daimyo!" Jiraiya shouted and slammed his hand on the table.

"Well there is more to the story but yes. That is exactly what has been going on. Although Training Ground 44 has quieted down the last couple of days for whatever reason," Hiruzen finished as he took out another file and handed it to his student. This file contained all of the research done on the artifacts and the chakra beasts.

Once again, he was treated to a moment of rare silence, which he enjoyed to the best of his abilities.

"Ah. I get it now. You've had time to think this through huh? So you want me to keep an eye on the kid and see if your theory is correct?" Jiraiya concluded.

The Hokage nodded but then took out a kunai and placed it on the table, "I'd also like it if you could scan this using sage mode."

Taking the kunai by the handle Jiraiya gave it a skeptical look, "So this one of those so-called artifacts huh? I'll summon Fukasaku to test it and see what comes up."

"I'm counting on you."

 **(Forest)**

Kenji and the rest of Squad D trekked through the forested mountain side. They hopped from tree to tree without making a sound. He had taken point at the front of the group seeing as Akame's sensory ability would allow them to spot any enemy shinobi near them.

The white rabbit sat comfortably on his head, her long ears constantly rotating like antennas. Lin-Lin, the useless mutt needed to be placed in his Kimono robe since she couldn't tree walk yet or move silently on the ground.

Akame suddenly sensed something and sent a mental image toward her partner.

Raising a hand Kenji stopped suddenly, and those behind him followed suit.

"What? Is it an enemy?" Tsubaki asked worriedly.

Kenji unhooked the ivory short bow from his back without saying a word.

 **Bow of Artemis +14**

 **Quality: High-Human**

 **Attack: 700**

 **+1200**

 **+Gains additional benefits dependent on the chakra element added to it.**

 **10+: Can infuse arrows with an element.**

 **12+: 5% chance to ignore all defenses.**

 **14+: Can create arrows out of chakra.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 950**

Then he took out two ordinary iron arrows from his quiver and placed them on the bow.

 **Arrow**

 **Quality: Normal**

 **Attack: 30**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 10**

He pulled the string to half its maximum tension, his arms straining slightly as the bow refused to bend. The strength needed for even that much was beyond what a normal human could produce.

The small boy took in a breath and aimed into the forest before releasing his breath and the arrows in one smooth motion.

The arrows blurred out of existence to those that were watching, but they were still able to hear them as they pierced through dozens of trees.

Kenji nodded in satisfaction, then he turned to his Captain that sported a stunned expression, "Looks like we just caught us some dinner. You should probably get someone to collect the bodies Captain. I also spotted some mushrooms and wild vegetables near us, should I go collect them?"

Tsubaki snapped out of her shock and did just that, sending the physically strongest looking member to go investigate in the direction of the arrows while others began to forage for edible plants.

It only took a moment, but the person was able to carry back the corpses of two medium sized boars. They were sealed into a storage scroll for the time being.

"That was a nice shot. Got them straight through the brain," the black-haired boy said to Kenji, as he handed the scroll to Tsubaki.

"Thanks …"

"Yuuto," the spikey haired 17-year-old introduced himself.

"Right, I'm Kenji Yamamoto," the small boy introduced himself then he turned to Tsubaki, "Now that we've had a few seconds to rest, we should hurry to the camping ground as soon as possible. I'll pick up the pace if it's alright with you Captain."

"Go ahead Kenji, we'll keep up."

Kenji nodded as he began to sprint across the tree tops.

They finally reached their assigned home base after two hours of non-stop running. Those that were less physically fit collapsed as soon as they got there, as only a few were able to keep pace with the chubby 10-year-old.

Their base was a cave hidden on the side of a mountain with a cliff in front of the entrance.

The cave itself was an adequate size, having a high ceiling and plenty of inside space to allow the 20 of them to rest comfortably.

They set up torches along the walls of the circular room and began to set up their tents, one for every two people, in a u formation facing the entrance of the cave.

Kenji did his part too as he wove some hand seals and the middle of the stone floor sunk to form a fire pit.

Everyone was doing their own thing. Those that were finished setting up their tents were resting their feet or taking a quick nap until dinner.

The final test of the exam would official start at 8 am the next day. Squads were forbidden from attack each other until then, so this would be their final night of peaceful rest until it was over.

Kenji looked at Tsubaki. She had been carrying a melancholy expression ever since she came back from their break. He wanted to ask her what was wrong but felt that that would be overstepping his bounds. It was her business after all and the way she decided to handle it was up to her.

Slapping himself, Kenji focused on the task at hand. As the assigned second in command it was his job to fill in for the Captain when she was unable to.

At the moment Akame was resting on Lin-Lin's back, playfully swatting at the other's head while the small Pekingese had to take it or else be forced into the ground by the sealing necklace. He started a fire using some firewood that they had collected on the way there. He might as well take cooking duty since no one else was volunteering, plus this way he could get some useful guinea pigs to test out his cooking. If it was as good as he thought it was, then he would need to expand his shop and open a food court as well.

He would use his own ingredients for this and leave the freshly killed boars for tomorrow, when food would become scarce. In no time, he began to set up his cooking station, around the open firepit.

A giant pot was filled with fresh water and left to simmer. He then began to prepare the meat in his inventory and the wild vegetables with masterful precision. His knife and hand were a blur as he sliced the meat into thin slices. After he cut the vegetables he placed them in the water to cook and mixing in some different spices to give it flavor.

He was making a hotpot since he didn't feel like wasting too much of his own supplies.

The cave was soon filled with the fragrant aroma of the food, causing those still awake to gather around the campfire in anticipation. Logs had been brought in as makeshift benches and placed around the open fire.

The sun had already set by the time the food was done, not that Kenji had noticed as he was too busy cooking. His beard was starting to itch too.

He took out four smaller pots from his supplies and created a smaller fire pit for each one. Using a bit of chakra control, he transferred all of the soup and vegetables into these pots.

Those that had been asleep had been woken up by their growling stomachs.

Groups of five gathered around these pots waiting patiently as Kenji began to distribute the meat.

As soon as the first of the meat was dunked into the broth, the aroma exploded outward, captivating everyone in the cave. Well everyone except Kenji and Akame as they ate like this everyday after he got the fermentation pot.

Tasting a bit of the soup Kenji nodded to himself, "Tastes pretty good. I'll add it to my recipe book. Wants some meat Akame?"

The small bunny nodded as she opened her mouth cutely. Kenji used his chopsticks to get a piece of meat still dripping with soup and fed it to her. Akame gave him a happy expression as her cotton tail wagged from side to side.

'Good. More.'

Kenji rolled his eyes and looked at all of those gathered in the cave. Everyone was having fun, despite the seriousness of the test. 'So, this is what it feels like to have comrades huh? It's not… bad I suppose.'

"Ah, hot! Hot! Hot!" Yuuto that was sitting to the right of him yelped in pain as he burned his tongue on a piping hot piece of beef, but the stubborn boy still refused to spit it out. Kenji's lips turned upward as everyone else laughed at the black-haired 17-year-old.

Tsubaki who was sitting to his left had also burned the tip of her tongue after getting impatient and drinking the still boiling soup.

Kenji felt a nudge on his leg and looked down to see Lin-Lin looking at him with puppy dog eyes.

She had already tried it with everyone in the group, but they were too enamored with the meat to give any away, no matter how cute she was being. With no other choice, she threw away her pride and went to the very boy who had tricked her into becoming his pet.

He thought of just ignoring her, but then she began to make pitiful noises. Tsubaki looked like she wanted to do something but when Lin-Lin looked her way, the Captain pretended to be looking up at the stalactites in the ceiling.

She did the same with Yuuto, but the brawny youth didn't have the curtesy to turn away as he began to scarf down his own food, all while looking her straight in the eyes.

With no other choice, Kenji fed her and Akame from his own plate, and just ate the vegetables. He still hadn't forgiven the Pekingese for injuring Akame or biting off his finger, reattaching it had been a bitch, but it would do him no good to starve her either.

"Oh, that's right. Captain, I got this book for you," Kenji said to Tsubaki as he handed her a book.

'How to Command Respect: 101 Skills every leader should know'

The blond girl didn't know what to say when she saw the book, "Umm."

"I read it during the break, it should help you if you get nervous," the small boy said.

"…Okay, thanks. I'll be sure to read it."

The eccentric boy stroked his beard in thought, "It said that before every battle it is the Captain's job to raise moral among the troops."

Tsubaki adjusted her square frame glasses and looked nervously, "I-I'm not sure how to do that."

"Not to worry, I know just the thing with your permission," Kenji said as he took out a bottle of Lion's Breath Sake.

"Umm. I not sure."

"Trust me."

"Okay, then," Tsubaki smiled gratefully as he stood up.

"Oi!" Kenji shouted into the cave, getting everyone's attention. "Good, I have everyone's attention. The Captain has allowed for a little pre-battle celebration, so I have a game for everyone!"

Everyone looked at the sake bottle in his hands and immediately got excited. Cheers broke out, as many thanked Tsubaki.

Walking out of he the circle of logs and near the entrance of the cave. Kenji performed an earth jutsu and circular stage, 15ft in diameter, shot up from the ground. The stage was two feet above the ground level.

Kenji hoped onto the stage easily enough.

Then he took out a large red sake dish and dropped a 100 Ryo bill inside it. He then addressed the group that were staring at him. "Let's play a little game of wrestling. Rules are simple: no chakra, winner is decided if the opponent gives up or is knocked out of the stage, and you have to pay 100 Ryo to compete. The winner gets this bottle of sake and all of the money in the dish."

They cheered in approval. Alcohol and money, who wouldn't. Everyone wanted to play, and Akame was tasked with collected the winnings, a total of 2,000 Ryo. (200 Dollars.)

It would be a tournament to make it fair.

Kenji was the first to fight. His opponent was surprisingly Yuuto.

As they stared at one other, it looked like David facing Goliath all over again. Kenji was 4' 6'' and Yutto was 6' 2''

Yuuto gave Kenji a smug look, "No hard feelings right."

"Don't worry, I'll try to hold back," Kenji countered in an equally arrogant tone, as he got into a fighting stance that looked close to that of the Hyuga.

"3. 2. 1. Start!" Tsubaki, who was acting as the judge shouted for the match to begin.

 **(Monitor Room)**

The Third Hokage smacked his forehead, unable to believe what his student was doing.

 **(Cave)**

"Ah! AH! I GIVE! I said I give up already! Get off!" Yuuto shouted laying face down on floor of the ring, using his left hand to slap the ground repeatedly. Kenji was standing on his back, one foot pressed on the back of his neck while his other arm was being twisted painfully behind him.

"Winner: Kenji!" Tsubaki announced, causing everyone to break into cheers.

Kenji got off the bigger boy.

"Ouch, that's some strength you got their squirt," Yuuto complimented the smaller boy as he massaged his shoulder.

"It's all in the training."

The tournament continued and as expected of any contest with prize money, Kenji emerged victoriously. He used his smaller size and superhuman strength to weave from everyone's reach or throw them out of the ring. Most couldn't believe it at first, that a 10-year-old that hadn't even broken through the 5 ft mark was able to throw them around like nothing.

That was the reason why he chose wrestling however. His base strength was enough to lift 3-ton boulders over his head after all, so picking up a regular sized person was no trouble. He even equipped a ring that enhanced his strength just to be sure.

"Here you go," Tsubaki said, as she presented him with the money and the sake bottle. She sported a small bruise on her arm. She had thought he would go easy on her just cause she was the Captain but Kenji showed no mercy when it came to money, so she had been kicked off the stage like the rest.

"Oh ho, this is a pleasant surprise! Thanks everyone! I just want to say, I couldn't have done it without you! Thank you for sucking so much, mwahahaha!" the disguised boy mocked them mercilessly, getting curses in return.

He wasn't a total dick however, as he still shared the sake with them. He still needed test monkeys after all. Everyone got one cup.

They all sat around the campfire in peaceful silence as Kenji stood up to make a toast. He stroked his beard in smooth motions as he held up his own sake cup, the others doing the same. "I hope you are all feeling full, I know my wallet is!" he shouted, getting everyone to laugh. "Tomorrow the test will official begin. A lot of things can happen between then and the end of the test, so there is no use worrying about that for now. Instead take comfort in the fact that right now, you are surrounded by allies that will support you. Look around you, these men and women will be in charge of watching your back tomorrow and you their's." Kenji could see comradeship in the eyes of everyone present as they looked around the room. "Teamwork is the most important thing, is what I'm trying to say. The will of fire burns brightly in all of us, and with it there is nothing that we can't accomplish. So rest up! Tomorrow we have a day of winning! Cheers!"

"CHEERS!"

They all drank their sake in one move.

Kenji did the same, and despite choking a little in the beginning he managed to swallow it all. Immediately he could feel the beneficial properties of the sake hit him as it began to be absorbed into his stomach. He felt as a portion of the energy contained in the drink began to seep into his chakra coils. All of the minor bruises he got from the tournament were healed at a rapid pace. Whatever leftover energy that hadn't been used up began to rise up his throat again until-

Buuurp!

A small blue flame escaped his mouth at that moment.

All around him, he could see others had blue flames escape through their mouth or their nostrils if the former was closed. He was the only one that had burped though.

"I can definitely feel the Will of Fire now. Hahahaha!" someone said causing everyone else to laugh too.

Even Kenji giggled at the ridiculous of it all. "At least I know why it's called Lion's Breath now."

* * *

 **A/N: Well I hope you liked it. I can't write much of an authors note since I've recently caught a nasty cold.**

 **Anyways, hope you liked the bow and stuff.**

 **Next chapter will have a bit more action.**

 **Bye. Until next time.**


	13. Genin Exam Part 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references mentioned in this fanfic.**

 **A/N at the bottom. So without further adieu, here is your fresh does for that Fiction-Addiction.**

 **Chapter 13**

"Ha!"

Kenji ducked under the sword's swing into a crouching position, then shot toward the enemy, firmly planting his foot into their diaphragm.

The folded like house of cards, falling toward their knees. Kenji didn't waste time as he kicked them in the head, smashing the headband and rendering them unconscious in one move.

With his current opponent incapacitated he moved on to the next.

It was only mid-day but they had already encountered an enemy team. This red team had 25 members in their group, five more than them.

Bending his legs, he leaped into the sky. He quickly surveyed the situation and unhooked his bow from his shoulder. He quickly loaded five arrows and let them fly.

Each arrow met their mark, as they shattered the plates of five members on the red teams.

Obviously, he was using blunted arrows with rubber tips, he didn't want to kill anyone, just cause them a lot of pain. That's not to say, that killing wasn't allowed. They had all signed a death waver before the exams, cause you know 'accidents.' So while they wouldn't be reprimanded for the death of a fellow candidate, it still wasn't something that would appear good on their record.

He also didn't use the full power of the bow, but the heads of each of the academy students' still snapped backwards rattling their brains. No one from their team had been disqualified yet, but a few had been injured and were just barely holding on.

The chubby child didn't have much time to rest however because now everyone that even had a lick of sense could tell he was a major threat, as he continued to snipe at them from a distance.

A volley of weapons bombarded him while he was still freefalling. Since it was too late to use the substitute jutsu with nothing nearby to switch with, he quickly used his ring to switch out his bow for a red oil-paper umbrella.

 **Red Umbrella Shield +13**

 **Quality: High-Human**

 **Defense: 10**

 **+1520**

 **10+: 25% of chakra attacks get stored to create a powerful force field around the user. Amount of chakra stored is equal to its Defense rating.**

 **12+: 4% chance to reflect jutsu back at the caster.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 1150**

He opened the umbrella to its full size, completely hiding his small frame from view. The projectiles bouncing of its surface without leaving a so much as a scratch.

Taking a quick peak over the edge, Kenji saw a giant fuma shuriken heading his way.

Immediately he closed the umbrella and held it as if he was holding a sword at his hip.

He waited until it was almost on him before he pulled apart the handle from the rest of the shaft.

*Click*

His arm blurred as the giant metal shuriken was split in half. In his outstretch hand was a tanto that was giving a dangerous red aura.

 **Hidden Tanto +12**

 **Quality: Mid-Human**

 **Attack: 450**

 **+900**

 **10+: Iaijutsu is 5 times faster.**

 **12+: Kinetic energy is stored inside the blade and can be unleashed into a single attack. Amount store is equal to its Attack rating.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 400**

Kenji grunted slightly as his arm was still unused to the speed needed to draw the tanto. 'I think I pulled something.'

He sheathed the tanto back into the umbrella's shaft.

The fighting was still going strong, and some of his teammates looked like they could use help. He landed lightly on the ground but quickly jumped away, dropping an explosive tag behind him.

Two hands sprouted from the ground and a red candidate immerged from the ground, only to be left dumbfounded as they didn't see Kenji. They did however see the left the remaining explosive tag land next to them, "Oh fuc-"

*Boom!*

Kenji used his smaller size to slide in between the legs of one of his teammates and an enemy ninja, that were locked in a stalemate. When he was underneath the red team's member, he shot his fist up and hit them right between the legs, with enough force to push them 3 inches off the ground.

As expected, the stalemate was broken instantly as the enemy ninja dropped to the ground foaming at the mouth, their eye's rolled back into their skull.

His teammate looked both shocked and a little scared as they subconsciously crossed their own legs.

Kenji used the pommel of his umbrella to break their plate, and then he was off to the next target.

But before he could do that, he had to lunge out of the way as a giant human boulder threatened to crush him. The Akimichi clansmen made a sharp 'U' turn as they tried to crush the tiny academy student.

Kenji however was ready as he wove hand seals and slammed his hands onto the ground. Immediately a 90-degree earth ramp formed in front of him. The Akimichi saw it, but he had already built too much momentum to stop, so he was forced to flew over the edge and into the air.

Kenji wasn't done however, as he switched his umbrella with a long steel chain. Channeling chakra through it, it followed his command, moving through the air like a snake. It tied itself around the 'big boned' teen, forming an iron net with the end of the chain still being in Kenji's hands.

Using chakra to anchor himself firmly to the ground, Kenji pulled on the chain using his monstrous strength. He gritted his teeth as he began to swing the chain around him, using the other ninja as an improvised flail, spinning faster and faster until he looked like a top.

With a heave he sent the incapacitate ninja into another member of the red group.

Poor bastard didn't stand a chance as he was flattened by his teammate.

'Behind you.'

Kenji heard Akame's message just in time as he backflipped twenty feet into the air.

From his upside-down position he saw the ground exploded into a fiery crater on account of the giant fireball jutsu that had been sent his way.

Equipping his umbrella again, he landed behind the ninja responsible for the attack.

They turned around faster than he thought possible with a chakra coated fist cocked back, ready to brain him. Unfortunately for them, his unsheathing speed was faster than they could throw a punch. The pommel of the tanto hit their chin, forcing their head to tilt upward, then he used the blade and stabbed it through their left foot. They screamed in agony, but Kenji didn't have time to worry about that. Jumping up he grabbed their head with his two cubby hands and gave them a flying knee straight to the face. He made sure to hold back his strength, since he didn't want to outright kill them, but the plate was definitely destroyed… along with their nose.

Retrieving his tanto and sheathing it back into his umbrella, he scanned the chaos of the battlefield to pick his next target.

'Watch ou-'

Kenji couldn't catch the end of the message as he felt someone kick him in the ribs, launching him away like a football.

The kick that was meant to break his ribs did no damage thanks to his upgraded clothes and armor.

He righted himself in mid-air and saw the culprit, a Hyuga clansmen that was currently sprinting toward him.

Putting his game face on, which still looked ridiculous with his fake beard, he stored his umbrella into his storage ring.

Now most people would say that it was foolish to fight a Hyuga in pure taijutsu, and frankly they would be right. However, that did not apply to Kenji who had more tricks up sleeves than- well anyone really.

"Eight Trigrams: 64 Palms!"

Kenji let himself be hit.

"2 Palms!"

"4 Palms!"

"8 Palms!"

"16 Palms!"

"32 Palms!"

"64 Palms!"

Kenji sprung his trap just as the last attack was about to land. Out of his sleeves came out a flash tag that flew toward the Hyuga's face.

No normally a flash tag wasn't enough to hinder a Hyuga's ocular power, since like all dojutsu they had a natural resistance to things that would harm them, like dust, light, etc.

But then again, no one had faced a shinobi quite like Kenji before.

The flash tag's light was four times stronger than normal. Even Kenji who had closed his eyes and used his arms to cover his face was momentarily blinded.

"Aaaargh!" The Hyuga clawed at his eyes, as for the first time in his life, he was betrayed by the very eyes that he was so proud of.

Using a bit of medical chakra, Kenji fixed his eyes at lightning speed. He glanced at the Hyuga who was rolling on the ground covering his face, his skin was sporting a light tan and Kenji could see steam rise off his body.

That had only been a +6 Flash Tag. The full powered +10 was so powerful that it would instantly burn whatever skin was exposed during the explosion and cause clothes to instantaneously combust. He had tried it only once, and he was left blind for 5 days straight, and not even medical ninjutsu had helped.

Walking closer toward him, Kenji didn't let down his guard even once. Then when he was close enough, he broke into running start and kick them in the head like professional soccer player, inadvertently saving them from anymore agony as they were knocked unconscious.

Tsubaki who was fighting her own opponent winced at the brutality that Kenji was displaying.

Her opponent also gave a wince and turned to her, "Damn, just what kind of monster is that kid."

"…This is his first time," she admitted, trying to defend the small boy.

"Well I mean that was obvious, but no kid should be that good or that brutal. Ah! And now his looting the body of the Hyuga!" the red team's member shouted in indignation, wondering if the fat child had ever heard of battle etiquette.

'Oh Kenji,' Tsubaki sighed, unable to defend his behavior. She clashed with the other ninja a few more times before she saw an opening.

She sent her kunai sailing toward his face, only for the man to tilt his head to the side just enough to avoid it, "You're going to have to do better than-"

He didn't get to say anymore as Kenji came flying out of nowhere and planted his two feet straight into his face. It was almost in slow-motion as his face deformed from the sudden attack and he was launched backwards.

The fat boy landed in front of Tsubaki.

Under his breath Kenji whispered, "…Dynamic Entry."

 **(Monitor Room!)**

"Ha! I fuckin called it! Pay up!" Tsume said as she slapped her hand on the desk. She just knew that he had picked up some of Gai's bad habits from all the time they spent together.

Inoichi, Choza, Shikai, and the Hokage grumbled as they took out money from their wallets and handed it to the Inzuka Head. Betting during the genin exams was a long held tradition after all.

 **(Battle Field)**

The man was sent skidding along the ground like a stone across the water.

Kenji turned to saluted his superior, "The battle is almost over Captain. The tides of battle are currently on our side. Still, we should not let our guard down. We never know if another Red Team is hiding nearby just waiting until we become exhausted."

"Right…" Tsubaki looked around and saw that her group was actually pushing back the enemy.

"Oh, look! There's the enemy's Captain, perhaps we should go and say hello," the small boy, stroked his ridiculous beard, trying to sound mature.

The opponent's captain was an Akamichi clansman that couldn't be older than 15. She was currently facing Yuuto, who was dancing circles around her.

"I'll do a mind transfer, Kenji watch my body," Tsubaki ordered as she began to perform her clan's signature jutsu. Kenji caught her body and took out some Shield Talisman from his pouch. At his mental command they soon started orbiting around the two, ready to defend them from any and all attacks.

He noticed that it didn't take nearly as much effort to keep them afloat like it usually did.

That wasn't all though, since he could sense a sort of emotionally charged chakra ball leave Tsubaki and travel toward the Akamichi woman.

'Wow, ninshu sure comes in handy at times.'

The plump girl stopped her assault on Yuuto who continued to hurl insults at her.

"You mama so fat, I tried picturing her in my head, and the bitch broke my neck," the black-haired teen said expecting another attack.

The girl however didn't retaliate as she just gave him a small glare, "That's enough Yuuto. Kenji, come over here!"

Kenji did as he was told and brought her body with him.

"Do you have something to restrain her?"

Kenji looked confused at the strange request, "Why not just smash her plate right now?"

" I-I think it would be better if we took her captive. That way the enemy doesn't know it lost a Captain until the time is right," she said uncertainly.

'That would definitely give us an advantage should the enemy grow arrogant because they think they have more allies. Not a bad strategy Captain, you might just have what it takes to be a leader,' Kenji thought in secret. Turning to the most senior of the group he asked, "Yuuto, what do you think?"

The 17-year-old just gave a shrug, "I don't really care."

"…Fine. Just wait a second," the small boy said as he reached into his pouch and took out a glass marble filled some strange purple liquid. "Sit down and put your hands behind your back."

Tsubaki did as she was told and felt as Kenji placed the orb into her hands.

Kenji flicked the surface of the marble with his finger causing the container to break. The mysterious liquid inside began to expand until it was ten times its original size, then it froze and hardened into a clear purple glass sphere large enough to encompasses the girl's two hands.

Yuuto looked surprised, "What was that?"

"It's a little something I came up with," the tiny ninja said as he stroked his fake beard trying to give a teacher like feel, "I call it glass cement. It's 5 times stronger than steel and completely temperature resistant. Plus, it's great at absorbing kinetic energy, so no amount of bashing it will break it."

The black-haired man still looked confused as he scratched his head, "So then how are you supposed to free them?"

"I have a solvent that will be able to melt it so there's no need to worry."

Tsubaki chose this moment to release her jutsu and go back to her own body.

The chubby woman also regained consciousness, "Huh? Wha-Where? What the hell?"

She immediately noticed that her hands had been restrained, and no matter how much chakra she sent into her arms, she could not get them free. She glared at the three of them with fury, although she was momentarily confused by Kenji's choice in appearance.

"Now that we captured their Captain, what should we do with the rest of the her team?" Kenji asked as he equipped his bow once more.

Yuuto yawned as he had his arms behind his head in a very relaxed position. Now that there was no more fighting for him to do, he was showing his lazy side again. "Just get rid of them. We can't let them contact another red team and tell them about our little plan."

The small boy thought so too, but he needed permission first.

He looked up to Tsubaki who gave him the go ahead.

"Fine."

Scanning the battlefield, he looked toward places that needed his help. He quickly spotted a Nara who had captured one of his teammates with his shadow while his partner was going in for the kill.

Taking two rubber tipped arrows, he shot them in rapid succession one after the other.

They flew across the battlefield in a fraction of a second.

The first hit the Nara's hands and accidently pierced his palms all the way though.

"Tch, my bad. I added too much power," Kenji clicked his tongue at what he saw as his failure.

The second arrow aimed at the other ninja was seen however as they dodged it at the last second. The ninja turned to glare in their direction.

Kenji looked impressed as he stroked his beard with his free hand, "Not bad. It's good that he chose to dodge instead of blocking it. Let's see if he can do that again?"

He loaded another arrow and activate the bow's special ability.

Giving chakra an elemental nature was said to be incredibly difficult to do and Kenji would have to agree as his chakra started to plummet rapidly. His strongest elements were currently earth and fire, as those were the jutsu he used the most.

The arrow turned red as it gained the fire element.

Kenji released it, and it flew like a comet, with a fiery tail trailing behind it.

The red member leaped into the air to avoid it, causing Kenji to smirk.

The arrow corrected its course at the last second and flew toward the airborne ninja. At Kenji's mental command the arrow exploded with the force of five explosive tag, gaining everyone's attention.

Kenji didn't waste time however as he quickly began to snipe the enemy while they were distracted.

The ninja crashed back to earth. He had been in the outer rim of the explosion where the damage was reduced, but he still suffered first and second-degree burns all over his body.

Lowering his bow Kenji saw that there were no more enemies left standing.

"Looks like we won," Yuuto chimed, "We should treat our wounded now, then move as far away from here as possible. No doubt the sound of battle will attract others."

"Oh let me do that Captain. I have plenty of items still left," Kenji vouleteered eagerly.

Yuuto gave him a suspicious look immediately. From what he knew of the boy, it wouldn't be wrong to say that the little brat would sooner bite his own hand off than give something away for free.

Tsubaki who didn't know Kenji's true personality yet looked touched thinking he was just concerned about their teammates. "Sure Kenji do what you can, but you also shouldn't push yourself. You fought an awful lot already."

Kenji gave her a thumbs up and turned around to go help out his teammates. Neither one of them saw the shark like grin as he walked away.

 **(Monitor Room)**

'The little midget figured out the hidden condition needed to pass the exam,' Shikaku thought mildly impressed.

He was able to see the battle through all the small hidden cameras that were being carried by Shibi's insects. The headbands all had a built-in microphone, so sound wasn't an issue either.

Still he was surprised that someone taking the test for the first time was able to figure out the true purpose of the test. After all you could still fail even if your team survived till the end, and you could still pass even if your forehead protector was smash.

No. The true purpose of the last test was to appeal to one of the different branches of their military. It worked similar to a show and tell. Those that managed to catch the interest of even a single branch passed, simple as that.

Apparently, the small dumpling shaped boy knew this too, as he was making an effort to appeal to all of them. The Research and Development had already called 'dibs' on him, which caused the other departments to keep a close eye on him too.

Shikaku watched on his monitor as Kenji began to distribute 'homemade' bandages and patches to his injured teammates. At first he was confused by what he was doing but when he saw the familiar green glow of medical chakra come out of the bandages, his eyes sharpened. 'What in hell is that?'

He looked around the table subtly and saw that the only one's who seemed to know anything were the Hokage, Tsume, and Madam Shijimi.

Frowning, he looked at the screen closer, he hated not knowing what was going on.

He was just in time to see the boy perform the Mystic Palm Technique. His hands gained a layer of healing chakra, then he started to heal the more serious wounds of his teammates.

'Great. Now the Medic Corps will no doubt want him too. So troublesome.'

 **(Battle field)**

"There, that should do it, shoulder is all fixed," the ten-year-old said.

The kunoichi rotated her shoulder and noticed that all the pain was gone, "Thanks kid- I mean Vice-Captain."

Kenji gave her a fox like grin as he gave her a small pat on the head and walked away stroking his beard laughing, "Hohohoho." He was still working on his old kung-fu master persona.

The girl watched with deadpan eyes as he walked away. It was a tough to believe that a kid that weird could be so strong.

Looking at his chakra level, Kenji noticed that he was down to an eight of his full reserves. Still he couldn't complain, they had immerged victorious without any casualty to their side, plus he finally had some real combat experience. Sure he had to hold back a bit so as not to really hurt anyone, but it was still something. Now he knew what he was capable of.

That didn't mean he would allow himself to grow arrogant though. An important rule of combat was to think of your opponent either as strong or stronger than yourself, and that for any trick you might have expect two from them. Which is why he had dozens of tricks up his sleeves, with more being made every day.

He gave a low whistle and Lin-Lin popped out of a bush near the tree line. She rushed over to him immediately. Kenji didn't want to use Lin-Lin if necessary, as he didn't yet trust her to go easy on anyone that wasn't him or Akame.

Speaking of Akame, he received a mental message from her.

'Can I stop hiding?'

Kenji discreetly shook his head. 'Not yet."

Once everyone from his side was healed, Kenji turned to the rounded-up members of the red team, who were being watched by a couple of guards.

Kenji gave them his infamous fox smile. "Hi there."

The group was understandably wary, as they huddled together.

"Ah, no need to worry. Since you've all lost your plates this means that we are no longer enemies," he said as he sat down on the grass, the two older shinobi stood close to him, ready to protect him. "See, I have a deal for you guys?"

A kunoichi that looked to be the oldest in the group was the one to speak up, "…What kind of deal?"

"Well you see, I have a very basic talent in medical ninjutsu."

The woman looked at all of the lively members from the green team currently celebrating and gave the bearded child a look filled with sarcasm, "Basic, right~"

"Yep, now technically I have no obligation to treat anyone-"

"What about the Hippocratic oath to help those that are injured?"

"I'd never said I was medic-nin. I'm just a simple academy student that might know a couple of healing jutsus," Kenji said innocently.

The woman clicked her tongue as she held a hand to her side where a kunai had managed to puncture the skin. "What's this deal then?"

"Oh it's simple really. I offer to provide medical assistance to you and your group and you agree to donate 80% of your supplies to us."

"What?! You can't be serious!" the substitute leader shouted in indignation, "This is highway robbery!" Those from the red team that had been listening in also began to voice their complaint.

The small boy tilted his head to the side in an innocent gesture, "How so?"

"You're asking us to give you almost all of our supplies, just so you can heal the very wounds that you and your group were responsible for. How does this make you any better than bandits?!"

"Well, you are still alive for one, but I see your point," the chubby merchant said before looking at one of the two guards, "Akira-san what do you think? Should I heal them without anything in return? Should I waste my chakra on them even though I have no responsibility to do so, and potentially put myself and the team in at a disadvantage situation the next time we have to face the enemy just to be a good person?"

Akira got into a mock thinking posture as he rubbed his chin, "Well now that you said it, I don't think that's very fair Vice-Captain."

"See, there you have it, an unbiased opinion," Kenji said as he turned back to the current leader of the red team as she ground her teeth together. "Of course, the decision is entirely up to you, but you should really take into account that, the village is more than 34 miles away from here, and the blood on your clothes will no doubt attract predators. Plus, there is always the chance of meeting bandits and with many of your teammates being injured and exhausted it will be a much harder fight. Again the choice is yours," Kenji said it with a voice so sweet that it caused the hairs of his two guards to stand up. They couldn't understand how a voice so childish and sweet could be so menacing.

The red team all looked like they eat lemons, but they finally relented after a few minutes talking to themselves. "Fine! We'll accept you damn deal?"

The greedy child clapped his hands together. "Splendid! Now if you could just point to your camp on this map. We can head there, and I can begin to heal your injured." Kenji took out a handmade map from his ring, although it appeared like he pulled it out of thin air to those that didn't know about the ring's ability.

"Wha-How do you have a map? And why not heal us here?" the woman shouted in surprise, since they were not provided with a map.

"Well this place leaves us open for an attack, so it would be best to get out of here as fast as possible."

"And the map?"

"Well that's not really any of your business is it?" Kenji said with a smile, causing a tick mark to appear on the kunoichi.

Truth was that last night he had sent Lin-Lin and Akame to scout the area while everyone slept. Then he had simply looked over Akame's memories to draw the map in the morning. Their special abilities made it almost impossible for them to be spotted after all.

Once the Red team's leader marked their camp's location on the map, they set off.

"Ah, wait!" Kenji said suddenly causing everyone to be on guard ready for an ambush.

Tsubaki held a kunai at the ready, "What is it? Another enemy team?"

"Huh? No, I just need to pee. Wait a second?" he said as he ran behind a shrub. Everyone faceplanted at the ridiculous of it all.

Making sure that no one was watching him, Kenji relaxed a bit. 'Akame could you scout ahead and check for any traps they might have set up beforehand.'

At first nothing happened but then two long white rabbit ears peaked out of the surface of his shadow. Akame's head was the only thing that emerged as she nodded, before sinking into his shadow once again. His shadow morphed to have two red circle as eyes, a mouth of triangular teeth, and two rabbit ears.

'Stop that! You know I hate when you do that!' Kenji mentally scolded her. It creeped him out, how similar she looked like black Zetsu.

His shadow moved of its own accord as it stuck out its tongue before it returned to normal.

As a level 2 chakra beast, Akame had two elements natures. When she first gained her beast crystal, she was granted a low yin affinity, but since neither one of them new any yin related techniques there was no real use for it until now.

When her beast crystal gained an additional layer showing her statue as a level 2, her yin affinity grew stronger and she gained shadow affinity similar to the Nara's. But for whatever reason, using them together allowed her two transform her body into spiritual energy and merge with shadows. She couldn't attack of course but she could definitely scout unnoticed. They called this jutsu the Dark Moon Technique.

Now that that was taken care of, it was time to get down to business. He still had a child's bladder after all, and that shit was ready to burst.

 **(Scene Change)**

They arrived at the Red Teams camp in just a few minutes thanks to the map.

Akame had reported back after disarmed the few traps near the entrance of the cave.

Tsubaki took this opportunity to take command, "Go and gathering everything in the cave and place it in a pile. We will give them the option of what they want to take."

Some people grumbled, but they listened to the Captain.

Kenji also felt like grumbling, but he had other things to worry about like taking care of the injured.

He took a few of his first aid equipment and began to apply them to the lesser injuries. This was a great chance for him to promote his shop's items. By the way, on a totally unrelated note, those that fought Kenji had the worst injuries and needed the higher-grade recovery items.

Kenji was even forced to take Chakra Elixir to replenish his lost chakra.

"Oi, what's that you just drank," Yuuto said as he walked behind Kenji who was using medical chakra to heal the Nara who's hands, he had skewered.

Taking the glass vial from his lips Kenji began to explain, making sure that he talked loud enough for everyone to here.

"This is a Chakra Elixir, it replenishes chakra."

"You mean like a soldier pill."

Kenji shook his head, "Nope, better. Unlike the chakra pill which forces you to make more chakra to fill your reserves, this elixir contains chakra. After you drink it, it will seep into your chakra coils and go directly to your reserves. This means that you can use then indefinitely without any negative side effects to your health or chakra coils."

Yuuto began to ask more questions about his items, and Kenji tried to answer all of them without giving too much away. He took the chance to let it slip that he would be opening a ninja tool store after the exam and began to shamelessly promote his store.

"Well I'm finished Captain," he said as he finished healing the last of the injuries.

Tsubaki turned to face him and smiled kindly, "Good, we were just about to divide the supplies."

"Anything good?"

"Just a couple of camping equipment and some food. Most opted to take their clothes and money?"

"Tch. Cheapskates."

"Right. Anyways, now that that's taken care off, I think we should head back to our base," she said adjusting her glasses and dusting off her clothes.

"What about our guest," the chubby boy said as he pointed a finger at the Red's Captain that was glaring at everyone.

"We'll blindfold her before we go."

"Okay, if you say so?"

After sealing everything, Squad D bid the red team farewell. Kenji made sure to hand them all coupons for his upcoming store as a sign of good gesture.

They made it back before noon, but during that time 2 green flares went up in the air, indicating that 2 captains from their side had been defeated.

"Damn, that means we only have 8 on our side including us," Kenji grumbled.

"Oi, someone go fill the canteens, there should be a river a quarter of a mile from here," someone shouted from inside the cave.

"I-I go!" Tsubaki volunteered as she raised her hand nervously. She had been feeling particularly useless all morning, so she was eager to prove herself.

"I'll come with," Kenji said as he stood up from the boulder he was sitting on, "Akame, Lin-Lin you're coming too."

The river that was mention was relatively easy to find, since they could see it even from their cave. It was 40 ft wide with a slow moving current that made it perfect for fishing. Smooth stones covered the edges of the river like a small stone beach.

"I'll get the water Kenji, you can rest," Tsubaki offered, taking out the empty canteens from a sealing scroll.

"Okay, I guess I could do a little fishing," the small boy said as he took out a fishing rod and a battered fishing hat from his rings inventory. He jumped on one of the large boulders near the edge to get a better look.

"Time to unleash my secret weapon."

He attached a small chibi version of himself to the line to act as the bobber. It had a large smile as it held up a peace sign.

 **Fishing Bobber +10**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Attack: 3**

 **+90**

 **10+: Increase fishing encounters by 1000%**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 40**

"Oh! I think I see a catfish!" Kenji exclaimed as he tossed the lure into the deepest part of the river.

'Dummy. Enemies are near.'

'How close are they Akame?' Kenji thought with a serious expression, as he glanced at Tsubaki who was ankle-deep in the water already.

'2 Miles from here.'

'Do you think you can take them?'

'Maybe? I feel a strong one there.'

Kenji gave her a subtle nod, as he took out a ninja pouch and attached it to her sides, then gave her the double-sided kunai. 'Take them out if you can, and if you can't then just thin them out as much as possible. Capture the captain if the opportunity presents itself, but don't put yourself in danger.'

'Reward.'

'…we'll talk about that when you get back.'

Akame nodded as she traveled up his sleeve and merged with the shadows inside his clothes.

Kenji felt a shiver run down his spine, 'Goddess, I hate when she does that!'

He didn't feel all that worried for her to be honest. As much as Kenji hated to admit it, Akame was currently the strongest member of their group, with Lin-Lin following close behind.

Just ability wise and without upgrade equipment Kenji stood no chance of ever beating them. Even now, if he fought them with all his items, he calculated that he only had a 70 percent chance of winning.

Despite this, Kenji couldn't help but worry for her.

The chubby boy was broken out of his thoughts when he heard Tsubaki speak to him.

"K-Kenji? C-can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What's up?"

She walked and sat on the ground beside the boulder he was standing on. She tucked her knees into herself as she watched the surface of the water. "…What do you think it means to love someone?"

Kenji turned to face the river as he asked worriedly, "Why are you asking me that? Shouldn't you be the expert here since you're engaged? …Or could it be that you are having second thoughts?"

The blonde hid her face and didn't answer.

"…I see. Well honestly I don't really know," he said as looked pensively into the river, "I've never really loved anyone or anything before. I'm an orphan so I've never known the love of a family and I've never really had any friends so…"

"What about Akame and Lin-Lin?"

"Them? Well Akame is well… Akame. She more like an ally than a friend. Lin-Lin on the other hand, I have no doubt that she would kill me if she could get away with it," he admitted, before throwing a glare at the Pekingese that was sunbathing beside them.

"I'll be your friend," Tsubaki offered.

"… Well I'm not really in a position to refuse, so I guess that's okay. Nice to meet you Friend Tsubaki," he mumbled as he scratched his cheek and then extend his small arm toward the blonde girl.

"Like wise, Friend Kenji," she said taking his hand and shaking it, before they both smiled and giggled.

They descended once more into comfortable silence.

"So are you?"

"Huh?"

"Are you having second thought about your engagement?"

"…I'm not sure."

"Is this why you've been depressed?"

"Huh?"

"I noticed that you've been feeling down ever since lunch yesterday. Did your parents perhaps not like the news?"

Tsubaki shook her head, "N-no, that's not it."

"Okay then, I won't but into your business. But you know? This reminds me of a poem I read once. Ahem, I think it went something like this:

 _My hands catch the fire._

 _Heart burns with love and desire_

 _Feeding my life's pyre."_

Tsubaki tilted her head to the side, "What?"

"The poem compares love to a fire. In my opinion I feel that love is as dangerous as any element, kind of like a campfire," he said as he used chakra to light his hand on fire and wiggled his fingers to demonstrate.

"This world is not nice by any means, it's cold and it's dark. But then comes love, and suddenly you can see the colors of the world and feel the warmth that you didn't know you were missing until then. But love doesn't just give, it takes too. You need to constantly feed it to keep it alive, but their will come a time when a storm will pass, and you will find yourself out of kindling. During that time, you can decide to either let the fire get extinguished or throw yourself into it, hoping that it will not betray your trust and hurt you. Tell me Tsubaki, is there a storm currently in your heart?" Kenji asked, giving his sage persona another go.

"I-I-I… I d-don't kn-know!" Tsubaki hid her face as she began to cry, salty tears trailed down her cheeks.

Kenji could feel a torrent of emotions hit him, almost knocking him off the boulder. He could feel them clawing at him, threating to influence him. Breathing deeply, he slowly accepted them, sending his own calm feeling toward her.

Ninshu was an amazing tool to understand others, but it only worked if you yourself were willing to accept everything, the good and the bad.

He didn't say anything as he focused on fishing.

It took a few minutes before Tsubaki finished, feeling refreshed by the end. Kenji on the other hand felt slightly sick and dirty, as if one of his hands was covered in motor oil.

Tsubaki took off her glasses and wiped her eyes, "Thank you Kenji."

"Hn."

"To tell you the truth, I'm not sure about my feelings right now," she said taking a stone and skipping it across the water.

'Ah! I felt something touch the line.' "…"

"What would you do, if loving someone meant going against the wishes of everyone?"

'So it was her family after all.' "While I want to say they don't matter, I don't know your circumstances, so I'll just say this. Did you think love would be easy?"

"What do you mean?"

"There is no such thing as easy love. Real love is hard work. It takes effort and most importantly it takes sacrifice."

"Sacrifice?"

"Yep. Every relationship is built around sacrifice. You give up your time, your feelings, your effort for that special person without asking anything in return."

"But what if this love ends up hurting people?!"

"Tsubaki, do you know what marriage means?"

"Yes."

"See I don't think you do. It's not just changing your last name, or uniting a family, or even about pleasing your lover. No, marriage is a promise. Not to them but to yourself. When you get on that alter and you look into their eyes, your heart should tell you this:

'I'm scared. The world is a scary and dangerous place. I am not sure what the future hold for me, but I can't imagine it without you in it. So I'll make a promise right here right now, not to God or you, but to myself. I promise that should you take my hand on this day, you will have it forever. I cannot promise we will always have good times, but I'll hold your hand through every obstacle the world wants to throw at us. And no one, not friend, not family, and not even death will ever separate us. So take my hand and I'll take yours, and we'll fight the whole world together if we have to, because that's how much you mean to me!'

…Do you think you can honestly say this?" Kenji asked her casually. Tsubaki was stunned as she opened her mouth to answer but he held up his hand to stop her, "You don't need to say anything to me. This is a decision that you need to make on your own."

Tsubaki closed her eyes as she got deep in thought thinking over what he had just said.

Kenji on the other hand was frowning, 'What the heck. How is my super ultra secret fishing bobber not working. It's been over 15 minutes without a so much as a nibble!'

 **(Monitor Room)**

Lady Shijimi squeezed the hand of her husband as they looked into each other's eyes.

She recognized both the poem and that little speech, since they were both from the novel that Kenji had written.

The Daimyo kissed the back of her hand as he whispered, "I love you."

Lady Shijimi gave him a heart-warming smile as she choked up, "…I know. I love you too."

It was true, that the Daimyo had never once stopped loving her, even before her sudden transformation, he had always told her that she was the most beautiful woman that he had ever saw.

Years ago when she had become pregnant for the first time, she had an attempt on her life. The culprit had used an unknown poison at that time, that was supposed to kill her. She managed to survive thanks to the medic-nins employed in the palace, but it was too late. Their unborn child had been ripped away from them before she could even take her first breath. Her uterus and ovaries had also been damaged beyond the point of healing and needed to be removed so that she could live.

She had never been the same since then. For weeks after that horrifying experience she had stared blankly into the garden without purpose, just thinking about the daughter she had lost. Tora. That was what they would name her. It wasn't until her dear husband had presented her with a small kitten and promised to always love her did she finally start to go back to normal.

Her, husband had it hard as well. His advisors had all tried to convince him to remarry or at least get a concubine so that there would be an heir to the throne, but he would always refuse. He did not get swayed or tempted by the noble ladies' attempts either. He had even boldly declared to all that the royal line would die with him, because he would not take anyone else but her.

That of course had severe consequence, with every noble now eyeing the throne. She as a result had risen to the challenge, protecting her husband from any and all dangers in court, using any means necessary.

Hearing Kenji's words had brought those memories rushing back.

'I promise that should you take my hand on this day, you will have it forever. I cannot promise we will always have good times, but I'll hold your hand through every obstacle the world wants to throw at us.' She couldn't help but think how true those words were.

 **(River)**

Kenji reeled in the fishing line and tossed it further out. He took a chance to inspect the blonde next to him. He could still feel doubt from her, but it was slowly disappearing.

"Ahem."

The girl looked up to Kenji who was busy staring at the river, "What?"

"…well since you were so open and stuff, I suppose it's only fair for me to share something embarrassing that could potential damage my reputation," he said as he briefly touch the dog mask strapped to the inside of his clothes.

"Huh? You don't need to do that?" Tsubaki said shaking her hands in front of him.

"No, its fine. You shared something so it's only fair," he said before taking a deep breath and saying what was really on his mind, "I met someone recently."

That caught Tsubaki attention, as well as everyone listening in. "Oh?"

Kenji looked away, "Yeah, the only problem is I don't know if I should trust them or not."

"Why, are they a bad person?" she said worriedly.

"I'm not sure. My brain is warning me to stay away, but my heart is saying to help her. I guess you could say I'm afraid," Kenji confessed. Dealing with Kaguya was practically the same as making a pact with the devil, and he was sure that sooner or later she would ask something in return. "I'm afraid of what they will expect of me. Will they make me do something I don't like? Will I start to change into someone else?"

Tsubaki didn't know what to say so she just sat down and leaned against the boulder.

Kenji however stood up when he noticed the bobber disappear under the water. The fishing rod suddenly lurched over, and he had to use chakra to not fall over.

'Oh boy, it looks like a big one!'

All of a sudden, the pull got stronger and wilder, 'A really big one.' Kenji tried to gain control again, but he was slowly losing the battle. 'What-"

Tsubaki was pulling out some plants growing from the ground when she finally spoke, "Looks like we both have problems huh?"

When she didn't receive a response, she got up and noticed that the small boy was gone, his fishing hat laying tipped over on the rock. Worriedly she began to look around, "Kenji? Kenji?! Where are you?"

Lin-Lin suddenly began to bark at the water.

When she turned she was just in time to see as a huge sea creature that looked like a hybrid of a catfish and an alligator leap out of the water. Almost in slow-motion she could see one of Kenji's arms trapped between its teeth while the small boy screamed and punched the cat-gator's eye repeatedly using his free hand.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhh…"

Then just like that, they disappeared back into the water.

It took Tsubaki's brain to restart but when she did, she leaped into the water. Lin-Lin followed almost soon after.

Kenji struggled to not scream out, as he could feel the razor sharp teeth somehow pierce his upgraded clothes and chainmail.

The cat-gator thing had a round flat mouth like that of a catfish, but with large triangular teeth that interlocked together. It had long whiskers, webbed feet and a fish like tail but was covered in hard mossy green scales.

The cubby boy could feel his arm grow numb, and from what he could see, the area around the wound was turning an unhealthy green. 'Oh, damn it. It has poison teeth.'

The gator began to dive in deeper towards its underwater den, hoping to drown the small boy. Kenji couldn't even summon a weapon since the damn beast would shake him like a ragdoll. Looking toward the surface he saw Tsubaki and Lin-Lin dive toward him.

However, just as he turned around to punch the gator in its eye once more, he saw that its whiskers were giving off electrical sparks.

Suddenly Kenji paled as his fox eyes opened, 'Aww shoot.'

That was the last thing he saw before one million volts of electricity coursed through his body.

 **(Elsewhere)**

Haishi gave on of his rare smiles as he walked through his camp. Everyone was working diligently like a well-oiled machine.

He was the Captain of Squad A, the group that only had 10 members. However with his exceptional leadership skills they had already taken out an enemy squad.

Unlike the rest of the Clan Heads, he looked forward to the genin exams. There was just something therapeutic in crushing these genin hopefuls, that managed to release all of the built up stress he had to deal with back in the clan.

'No paperwork, no elders, no responsibilities. What more could a man want,' he thought as he took in a breath of clean forest air. "Ahhhh."

He gestured to the look out that he was going to the woods for some business. The guard saluted and went back to scanning the area for any trouble.

When he was deep enough into the forest, Haishi activated his Byakugan to make sure that there was no one nearby and then picked a suitable tree to mark.

However just as he let his trouser snake free, a small white rabbit with a crescent moon birthmark emerged from the underbrush.

"Oh? It looks like dinner found me," Haishi said before turning to finish his business.

But it was that moment that Akame chose to strike as she got a +10 Flash tag from her pouch and ran between the man's legs.

Haishi looked confused for a second, before he noticed the paper in Aakme's mouth that was glowing. He didn't even have time to pull up his pants before the world was bathed in light.

 **(River)**

Gasp!

Kenji sat up as he coughed up the left-over water in his lungs. He could feel the stones dig into his back as he laid back down again.

Tsubaki stood over him, with a worried expression.

Looking around, Kenji noticed that they were back on the beach. Tsubaki sported a small cut on her cheek but looked relatively unharmed. Lin-Lin was dragging the corpse of the cat-gator out of the water by the tail.

"T-Thanks for saving me," Kenji said as he still felt the electrical current in his body.

"…"

"What? Why aren't you saying anything? Are you okay?" he said with a worried expression.

"…Kenji, promise to not freak out."

"What, why?!" he shouted, now worried. When he looked to his left he immediately saw why. "Oh Goddess! What's wrong with my arm!?"

The arm that the gator had bitten had turned black as coal and shriveled making it look skeletal and decayed. Kenji felt bile rise in his throat at the horrific scene.

'Okay, calm down. What ever you do don't. freak. Out.'

"AAAHHHhhh! What's wrong with my arm!? Why does it look like that!? Get it off!?"

Tsubaki tried to hold him down by the shoulders to stop him from thrashing around.

Suddenly he couldn't breathe properly as he went into a panic attack.

The blonde was trying to calm him down, but it wasn't working.

It took several minutes before Kenji managed to get control of his breathing again. But the problem was still his arm.

Tsubaki rolled up his sleeve all the way up, and both could now see the full extend of the damage had reached above elbow, with the remainder of the arm turning a sickly green color.

Unable to look at any further, Kenji took out a butcher knife from his ring's inventory.

Before Tsubaki even had the chance to shout in alarm, Kenji had already brought down the edge of the knife down on his arm.

He didn't even feel it, since the necrosis had already destroyed the pain receptors in his arm. He sat up and brought his other hand toward the newly made stump that was leaking some sort of black pus. Without hesitation he activated the Yang Seal.

Almost immediately the color of his arm returned to normal, and bone began to grow from the stump, followed by tendons, then muscles, and finally skin.

Tsubaki who was watching in horror, immediately stood up and rushed toward the river to empty her stomach.

Kenji fell back down to the ground, mentally exhausted.

This was the scene that Akame stubbled upon as she dragged the unconscious body of Haishi behind her.

Jiraiya who was hiding nearby broke into a cold sweat, 'The old man is going to kill me.'

 **(Monitor Room)**

'I'll kill him!'

* * *

 **A/N: Finished. Hope you guys enjoyed it.**

 **So what did you think about Kenji style of fighting. Was it too brutal? I'm trying to go with Neo's and Adam's style of fighting of fighting from RWBY. Of course, this won't be forever, but right now he is too small to use most weapons effectively … so yeah.**

 **Did you enjoy Kenji's moneygrubbing techniques? (Twist nefarious mustache, "Yes~ Bleed them dry~")**

 **I think I mentioned it before but Akame is special, even by chakra beast standards. (cough unknowingly connected to Kaguya cough). But she is strong enough to hold her own against most opponents.**

 **Quick question: Should she and Kenji come up with a combination jutsu that uses yin and yang chakra?**

 **Right, so while Kenji might not be the strongest or the fastest he is definitely the most slipper with a literal arsenal of tricks that no one has ever seen before.**

 **The catfish-alligator is actually from Avatar: The Last Airbender. (look it up)**

 **So Kenji got his first** **human** **friend. Yay!**

 **Kenji will make a summon contract for all of the chakra beasts that he tames to those who were asking.**

 **Sorry that this was such a long chapter by the way, but I originally wanted this arc to be over in just 2-3 chapters.**

 **Until next time.**


	14. Genin Exam Part 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references mentioned in this fanfic.**

 **Chapter 14**

No words were said as they returned to the cave. Kenji carrying the cat-gator after he equipped a necklace that raised his strength, while Tsubaki carried the burned and shirtless form of Hiashi. Kenji gave him a pair of pants for the time being.

Akame looked smug at her victory, thinking about what sort of reward she should ask for.

Lin-Lin also looked happy as she rode on top of the cat-gator that Kenji was carrying over his head. It weighed close to 2 tons but was being dragged around like a giant stuffed animal.

The trek back was made longer by how mentally tired they were, but they could finally see the camouflaged entrance of the cave.

"Hey they're bac- What the fuck is that!?"

The yell from the guard stationed outside attracted the attention of everyone inside, as they rushed to the entrance with their weapons drawn.

"Holy mother of Shit!"

"The hell is that thing?"

"Mother Nature, you kinky bitch."

Of course, the giant mutated animal got their attention, the thing was easily 30 ft long with a mouth big enough to swallow a person whole.

*Thud*

Kenji dropped it in front of them, causing a small dust cloud to rise. Tenderly, he massaged his newly grown arm. It shouldn't hurt since everything had been healed perfectly, but he still felt phantom pains. Just thinking about the mummified arm brought a shiver down his spine. It was currently in his inventory ring until he found a use for it.

Tsubaki noticed his discomfort but didn't know what to say. She could hardly believe it herself, and she was there. The scene of the sweet if greedy ten-year old boy chopping of his own decayed hand would probably haunt her dreams for some time. Then of course there was the matter, with how he had managed to regrow it again. Say what you will about her, but she wasn't dumb. She had been around plenty of clansmen who had lost a limb during the 3rd Shinobi War or the Kyuubi attack to know that medical ninjutsu could not do what Kenji had just done.

She was sure that there was reason behind all of this, but she didn't want to unnecessarily meddle in his affairs after she had finally become his friend.

'I think I should invest in some therapy sessions after this. Last thing I want is to go crazy before I even reach my teens,' Kenji thought as he clenched his left hand to remind himself that it was still there.

'There's also the matter with him,' the small boy turned to the enemy captain, who was severely injured, with a lot of the wounds being around the *ahem* lower region. The clay plate was still intact but the cloth holding it was burnt to ashes. Akame had made sure to collect the Captain's badge and whatever equipment had survived the flash tag.

Turning to the squad who were too busy crowding around the dead chakra beast, taking turns poking it with sticks like curious children, he noticed someone missing.

"Hey, where's Yuuto?"

One of his teammates stopped their poking to answer him, "Oh him, he had to use the can. Although he's been gone for a long time?"

The small boy but a fist to his chin, "That's not good. Perhaps he's already been captured by an enemy team. If that's the case… then that means we can split up his supplies among ourselves?"

"Oh, I call his tent!"

"I want the te-Damn. Fine then I want his sleeping bag!"

"Then can I have his kunai? I've running a little low."

Immediately more people started to ask for his things.

Kenji sighed at their squabbling, "Alright that's enough. First of all we don't know if he's gone yet. Let's give him 5 more minutes. Second of all, I'm getting his sleeping bag, he would have wanted me to have it?"

Immediately a small rock bounced off of Kenji's head.

"Oi! I'm right here. Stop trying to kill me off, you bunch of vultures," the black-haired young man said with a tick mark as he emerged from his hiding spot.

"Tch!" everyone clicked their tongues.

Kenji looked at him briefly before turning to the group, "Oh, right! Before I forget, don't touch the weird alligator-fish thing with your bare hands, it's extremely poisonous and I can't be certain it it's safe or not.

Immediately everyone took one giant step back and threw their pointed sticks away.

Almost as to prove his point, a lone bird flew down onto the carcass and peaked at its eyes, then stopped and fell to the ground completely dead.

Tsubaki finally got tired of holding the injured man and called the closest ninjas. "Hey, you two. Take this guy toward the holding cell where we have the other enemy Captain. Please be gentle, he's rather injured in the umm… downstairs."

With that taken care off, Tsubaki called everyone back inside.

Kenji opted to stay behind since he wanted to dismantle the body for materials. Tsubaki looked like she wanted to protest but ultimately let him be.

The first thing he did, was use a medical scanning jutsu to locate the chakra crystal inside of its body. Then with a chakra scalpel he cut a hole on its head and retrieved the crystal inside of its brain.

Kenji momentarily held it up against the sun. It was completely purple with no added layers, it would take a day at the maximum for the purple color to bleed out of the crystal, so Kenji could see what element it was.

After safely putting it in his ring, Kenji started using both medical ninjutsu and a sharp knife to systematically take apart the huge beast.

He harvested six poison glands from its mouth. The fangs were pulled out one by one. The two eye's that were roughly the size of tennis balls were plucked from its skull. Next he skinned it, which proved hard that he initially thought seeing as chakra would slide off its skin, meaning he needed to do it by hand. "I can probably make some good leather from this."

He needed to remove 20 more sac glans around its body, with 4 being punctured already and poisoning the meat. When he opened up the stomach, he almost gagged at the putrid smell of decayed meat but then he noticed something.

"What the heck?"

Gingerly he put on a thick leather glove and rummaged inside the undigested mush, finding two orange-sized stones and an additional chakra beast crystal.

 **? Stone**

 **Quality: Low-Human**

 **\+ Can store chakra inside (12/500)**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: N/A**

"Holy mother of chakra!" Kenji shouted in surprise. Whipping away the slime on the stone, he saw that it was a black rock that had red veins on its surface. Getting an upgraded knife, he split it perfectly in half, and saw that there were tiny red crystals inside of it. "This appears to be some type of geode capable of storing chakra. I think I'll call it an Power Stone."

 **Power Stone**

 **Quality: Low-Human**

 **\+ Can store chakra inside (6/250)**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: N/A**

"Looks like it still works. I wonder where it found this?" Kenji said as he stored the two geodes inside his ring for safe keeping.

"Oh! I found my fishing bobber. Nice."

Next was the chakra beast crystal. It was a bright ocean blue color with only one layer. He channeled a bit of his chakra through the crystal and saw as water began to pour out of it, signifying that it was a water element. 'This will be useful for performing water jutsu without a source of water.'

Once more he got to dismantling the body, making sure to set apart the hardened bones and ligaments to be made into weapons later. Chakra beast meat wasn't edible for humans, but it was great for other chakra beasts since it helped their crystal grow. He would save it for Akame and Lin-Lin.

Speaking about the little menace, he was surprised to hear that she had jumped in to save him.

'She had no reason to, and with me gone there would be no one to stop her, so why did she do it?' he thought with a serious face. He still wouldn't trust her, but he guessed that it couldn't hurt to treat her better.

When he was done, there was nothing left of the beast except the blood on the ground. Weaving through a couple of hand seals and the earth was overturned.

Walking inside he headed straight for the holding cell, which was really just a room carved out of the side of a wall using earth jutsu, with stone bars the only thing holding them in.

He waved to the guard who nodded back before opening a small hole in the wall big enough for him to enter.

The Akimichi girl turned and glared at him, before laying back down on the stone bed they had made for her. Across from her, was the still unconscious Captain in a similar stone bed.

Walking toward him, he wove the hand signs for the mystic palm technique and began to diagnose the injured man. 'Ouch! That's not good at all. Just what the heck did Akame do to him?'

He began to heal some of the injuries straight away, but some were beyond his capability, plus there was also the fact that he didn't feel like touching another man's junk.

'I could heal him with the Yang Seal, but I already used it earlier today. Yang Seal or another man's junk? …Yang Seal it is,' he said before activating the healing properties of the Yang Seal.

Immediately the person began to change before his eyes. The burned skin began to heal until it looked like normal skin, although perhaps a little too pale. The hair that had been burned off was also starting to regrow. Running a quick diagnostics jutsu, he confirmed that the man's family jewels were also saved.

"Oh shit."

Now that the man was completely healed, Kenji was able to recognize him as the Hyuga's Clan Head, Hiashi Hyuga.

'What does this mean? Why would a clan head be here of all places? …Unless!' Kenji quickly looked around and got out a blanket which he draped over his body. 'Of course! They wouldn't just leave genin hopefuls on their own. They must have mixed in a couple of chunin and jonin into the batch to act as observers. But if a clan head, is here, then that must mean that there could be others too. I should probably try to keep this a secret, since this doesn't seem like the type of thing that should be public knowledge. They must be wearing disguises.'

He incased Hiashi's legs in glass cement as a precaution but left his hands free so that the man could still perform the transformation technique once he woke up.

Turning to the girl that was trying to feign sleeping, Kenji threw a pillow at her, then walked out of the cell.

"I covered him with some ointment to deal with the burns, tell me when he wakes up please," Kenji said to the guard.

They had already decided to rest for the day, so with nothing else to do, he decided to go to sleep and put the day behind him.

 **(Monitor Room)**

The Third Hokage, rubbed his aching temples. This genin exam was turning into a disaster.

The second that Kenji had amputated his own arm and then regrew it, the room had exploded into chaos.

Everyone started yelling. The Medic Corps began to ask pointed questions about what type of jutsu that was. The Research and Development branch had once again yelled out 'dibs'. The Torture and Interrogation Force had also thrown in their lot for the boy, seeing the usefulness in his healing abilities.

The Daimyo and his wife had to be escorted out of the room after the later fainted on account of the gruesome sight.

'You had one job Jiraiya. One job! Protect the boy at all cost, that was it,' he thought angrily as he slammed a fist into the table.

Around him, were the other clan heads, all with serious expressions as they reviewed the tape again.

It was unlikely that Kenji's name wouldn't be known by the end of the day. The Hokage gave a sigh, he really did try to protect the boy. But it was all for not now.

Kenji Yamamoto. He was like a giant puzzle that kept changing whenever you thought you had him figured out. He partly knew the reason why too. DNA scan's showed that he had Senju DNA in him, not a big surprise since at least a quarter of the village had some blood ties with the almost extinct clan, but sensors had confirmed that his chakra signature was gradually changing. What this meant he did not know yet, but at least this proved that he wasn't ordinary.

Hiruzen would admit to himself that even he was slightly taken aback when the young boy cut off his own arm and seemingly regrew it in only seconds. The lack of hesitation showed that the boy was already well aware of his healing ability and had kept it hidden from them all. It was becoming clear that Kenji was smarter than he led on if he had been able to keep this a secret from Cat.

However, the most worrying part was that his gut told him this was just the tip of the iceberg, and something even more shocking would happen soon.

'God, I need a drink.'

 **(Daimyo's Residence)**

Madam Shijimi looked weak and pale as she lay on a sofa, her husband was sitting by her side fanning her.

As she stared at the high ceiling, the same image kept replaying over and over again.

Kenji, the sweet boy that she had met all those months ago had successfully regrown his arm.

She as well as her husband knew exactly how important this truly was. The best medic-nins that money could buy had all told her the same thing, that medical ninjutsu was incapable of re-growing missing body parts. Medical ninjutsu had been designed to accelerate the healing in the body by using chakra, but it couldn't heal something that wasn't there anymore.

Try as she might, Madam Shijimi could feel tears begin to escape her eyes and draw dark lines down her face. She desperately told herself that she shouldn't get her hopes up, but it was impossible, a small flame had been ignited in her heart. 'Kenji Yamamoto, please let me not be wrong about you.'

 **(Scene change)**

"It is good to see you once more My Lady," Kenji said as he gave the Rabbit Goddess a bow.

Kaguya peered down at him without saying a word, her eyes asking the unsaid question?

"Ah you must be wondering about his, right?" the small boy said with a smile as he waved his left hand that had become transparent. "No need to worry, tis but a flesh wound."

This dream world was different from the real world, as it showed your true self. As such, Kenji was back to his bishounen appearance. However, since he partly considered his arm to be lost, it had become transparent to reflect his mental image of it.

"I will not ask any further then," Kaguya said out loud, deciding to let the matter drop for the moment.

"Thank you, My Lady. Was there something you wanted to discuss?" he said as he tilted his head in confusion.

"Yes, there is. But not here at the moment?" Kaguya said as she stood up from her throne.

"Then where, if not here?"

With a snap of her fingers the walls of the room began to melt, showing a familiar scenery.

They were back in the Leaf village, above the middle of the market square to be exact. He spun around to look at his surrounding and found that everything was identical according to his memories. Even the people walking around and manning the various stalls acted like he remembered.

Turning around to face the goddess, Kenji saw that she was no longer a giant. She was now the same size as a regular human being.

They began to float down until they touched the ground. The people paid them no mind as if they were invisible, and when someone walked into Kenji, they literal walked through him not unlike a ghost.

"This is very well done. Did you craft this place from my memories perhaps?" Kenji compliment her.

Kaguya gently stroked the cheek of one of the phantoms, her touch apparently being able to interact with them. "It has given me time to think."

"It must have taken a rather long time?"

"Time is all I have I'm afraid," she admitted with a melancholy expression.

Now that he looked carefully, he could see that some of the phantom's movements were stiff and their interaction were the same, almost as if they were reading from a script.

"Ahem? Was there somewhere special that you wanted to have our talk My Lady?"

Her hand phased throw the phantom of the person, and they were free to go on their business once more. White pupil-less eyes turned to him before she began to head in one direction.

Kenji followed behind her without question.

'A park?' he thought when he saw that they were heading toward one of Konoha's largest parks.

When they reached it, they began to walk along the worn path, or rather Kenji began to walk since Kaguya was gliding an inch above the ground.

Then for no particular reason Kaguya began to speak, "It truly amazes me?"

"Hm? What does my lady?"

"Humans. Back during my era we had none of these contraptions, or this ee-lick-tri-city that people nowadays have become so dependent on. But I suppose that that is the mark of progress," Kaguya said to him.

Kenji decided not to correct her as he nodded back, "Yes, humans truly are curious creatures. They tinker with anything they can get their hands on. Sometimes something good will come of it, but most of the time it is something bad. The memories I got from my extra-dimensional half showed me that much."

"Hmm? Tell me Kenji, do you consider yourself human?" Kaguya asked as she slowed her pace so that they would walk side-by-side.

"That's a good question. What does it mean to be human I wonder? Is it the body or the mind that gives credence to calling oneself human? If an ape were to say that it was human solely on its belief would that be enough? What if it were too somehow gain a human body, would that be enough to make his statement true?" Kenji said philosophically, relying on Adult Kenji's memories of taking a college course on the subject to stall for time. 'Why would she ask me that so suddenly? Could this be another test?' "To tell you the truth My Lady, I am not sure what to consider myself. While I do possess a human body and a human mind, I can not say that I was created in the traditional sense." 'There, that should be a good enough answer?'

Kaguya stared at him intently before nodding to herself and continued to walk forward.

'Looks like I passed,' Kenji thought, giving an internal sigh of relief. Just to be on the air of caution, he had made sure to limit the connection between him and Kaguya so that she could not just read his thoughts.

Once more the Rabbit Goddess spoke, "I feel the same. Though my appearance may look human, there is no denying that my species is many times more powerful than those on this planet. They are so very different from us?"

'Us?' Kenji suddenly didn't feel right with the way that the conversation was turning, "My Lady-"

He was cut off before he could ask his question. Kaguya turned to face him fully, "You and I could be considered outsiders as it were. Our circumstances are not that far from each other if you think about it?"

"I-I suppose so," Kenji said unsurely.

They continued their walk silently.

When they reached the river that cut through the park, Kaguya continued. "I have though greatly of what we spoke of last time?"

"Oh? And what was your conclusion, if I may ask My Lady?" Kenji said with genuine curiosity.

"I have determined that your words have some merit after all. Perhaps it is time for me to leave the reins of protecting the earth to the younger generation," she explained.

Kenji gave a small bow, "I am glad to offer council."

"However," she continued, causing Kenji's insides to freeze, "I still have doubts whether this generation is currently capable of repelling my clansmen. Answer me Kenji, from your insight, do you think that they are strong enough?"

'Ah damn.' Kenji closed his eyes to appear as if he was in deep thought. He could feel Kaguya's eyes stare at him with laser focus, "…If I were to say the truth, I would have to say that no one right now would be able to stop them should they visit this world. As stated before, it was not until the Fourth Shinobi War that they were forced to grow to fill that role."

Kaguya then finally asked the topic that had been on her mind, "Yes, I remember. Which leads me to my next question, do you believe that this war is essential to their survival?"

For the second time now, the small boy felt the blood in his veins freeze at the question. Somehow, he didn't think another philosophical explanation would be able to fool her.

He stayed quite for much longer as he thought over everything that he knew about the war until he reached a conclusion that left his mouth tasting something bitter, "I-I-I believe that it is essential for the world's survival." As much as he didn't want it to be true, there was no denying the fact that the Fourth Shinobi War was ultimately what led to the first true steps for world peace. With the Shinobi Alliance set in place, all of the nation's hidden villages would be able to grow strong in relative peace. Naruto and Sasuke would also receive the experience needed to fight someone from the Otsutsuki clan. "S-Sometimes a n-necessary evil is needed to achieve the best results."

"Is that your final answer?"

*Gulp* "It is, My Lady."

Kaguya stayed silent as she turned and walked toward a gazebo that was overlooking a small lake.

Kenji stayed by her side all the while.

She sat on a stone bench and looked at him with a calm smile. He chose to remain standing in front of her.

"It would seem I was not wrong about you Kenji Yamamoto," she said in a sweet voice as she held out a finger so that a small bird could land on it. The small sparrow chirped and tweeted in happiness as she petted it lightly on the head.

"I see."

"I've concluded that this world does not need a mother to protect it, humans have managed to survive well enough in my absence after all. Instead I will assume the role that I should have initially taken after I ate the Chakra Fruit. I will become this world's deity," she declared to him, determination flooded through their connection.

"I-I am happy to hear that My Lady, I am sure that the world will benefit greatly from your guidance," the small child said after a while.

"Thank you. But before I can ascend to that position, I have one final task I must complete."

"And what might that be, if I may ask?"

"A final test for the denizens of this world. The war shall go as foretold," she said in a almost sad tone before her eyes hardened, "I will test their abilities to fight for themselves. On that day, they shall have to prove to me without the shadow of a doubt that they will be strong enough to defend the Earth."

"…And if they should not?" Kenji couldn't help but ask.

Kaguya's eyes had turned emotionless, "Then I will continue with the original plan."

"I can see that you have thought hard about this decision My Lady."

"Yes, I have. Which is why I have brought you before me," she said as she stood up, towering over his small frame.

"M-My Lady?"

"Kenji Yamamoto, I ask this of you now. Are you willing to be my General during this war? Will you be my voice and do my will in this world? Will you pledge your loyalty to me?" she asked in the most serious tone that Kenji had ever heard.

However, the small boy was left stunned at this outrageous proposition. 'All I wanted was to be a simple merchant and live in peace. How did things become so complicated? Ah shit, she's waiting for an answer! Quick say something!' "I-I-I … I'm sorry my lady, but I can I have some time to think this over?" he said bowing at a 90-degree angle, unable to meet her gaze.

Kaguya's brow scrunched together as she frowned, feeling both disappointed and happy at the same time. "While it is disappointing that you do not have an answer right know, I am at least relieved to know that you are not a fool that runs into situations headfirst without careful planning. … I shall give you adequate time for you to think about my proposal."

He gave a sigh of relief at that, "Thank you my godd-"

"However, please be aware that although I may be eternal, my patience does have its limits."

He swallowed nervously, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

She nodded, "Good. Now that that is out of the way, why don't you tell me about how you lost that arm of yours."

'Oh boy, out of the frying pan and into the fire,' he thought bitterly as he silently cursed the giant amphibian.

For the next couple of hours, Kenji had to come clean about the truth of the Chakra Beasts that were currently roaming the world. That then led into a discussion on wuxia culture from where the creatures were originally from and that led back into his Upgrading Ability. Of course, he didn't outright say that it worked similar to a video game, instead passing it off as a way of enchanting an object with special abilities. Amazingly enough, Kaguya confessed that her clan was able to do something similar. Kenji already suspected this, since he recalled the Dog Mask that she had given him as well as the Treasured Tools of Sage of Six Paths.

After an unknown amount of time, Kenji was finally allowed to leave.

 **(Cave)**

Kenji woke up in a cold sweat, Tsubaki who shared the same tent with him was standing over him.

"Are you okay?" she said in concern.

"Huh? Yeah, just a dream. Is it time to head out already?" he answered as he got out of his sleeping bag.

"…Yes. We better get ready before breakfast is gone," the blonde confirmed, as she stared to get dressed herself.

Kenji put on a green kimono jacket and white pants with shinobi sandals. Tsubaki chose a black long sleeve sweater and some green overalls again. They undressed in front of each other since it took less time, plus with Kenji still being a child that hadn't even hit puberty, there was no need to worry. Kenji himself was unaffected by Tsubaki's unclothed form since he had plenty of experience being around naked women thanks to his medical examinations in the red-light district. Although he was mildly surprised to find that the introverted blonde was hiding an impressive figure underneath her baggy clothes.

Breakfast was a simple porridge with some bread and cured meat.

The sun had been up for an hour now, so it was high time for them to go out again.

"Not you Kenji," Tsubaki said when she saw that the boy was heading toward the entrance of the cave.

"What?"

"You needed to rest? Plus someone needs to stay behind to guard the prisoners," she said in a rational tone, for once showing a strong back bone.

"But Captain, how are you supposed to find the enemy team without me. I'm the only tracker in the group," Kenji countered.

"You are also our only medic, and we need that a lot more. I can also body a bird and scan from the skies, so there is no need to worry," Tsubaki said as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Kenji could feel the concern bleed into him. Seeing that she wouldn't back down, Kenji had no choice but to bow his head, "I understand. I'll stay back and guard the prisoners."

"Good. Also make lunch if you have the time," she said as she adjusted her glasses and gave him a wide smile.

Kenji watched them leave from the entrance of the cave.

"Well I guess I finally have time to myself again. I suppose I can train for a bit," he said to himself as he walked into the cave. Akame was taking a nap, while Lin-Lin was left to guard the enemy captains.

Jumping onto the stone stage that he had made on the first night, he took in a deep breath. He then began to go through a couple of katas, making sure to go slowly to get them perfect. When he felt he had them all correct, he began to pick up the pace. It was like an intricate dance as he jumped and spun around in the ring, throwing kicks and punches from all directions, fighting invisible enemies. The movements then got faster and faster until he looked more like a blur. Coming to the finally, he stepped forward, utilizing all of the muscles in his body to throw a single punch.

*Pow*

The air cracked with power as his punch broke the sound barrier.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Hearing clapping Kenji turned toward the direction of the sound and saw Hiashi standing next to the stone bars of his cell. He had reapplied the henge jutsu at some point since his appearance was that of a young Hyuga clansmen.

"That was very well done," the disguised Clan Head said to the small boy, who was panting and sweating from his workout.

Kenji bowed as he cupped his fist in respect, "Thank you, for the compliment."

"Hmm? I take it you know who I am then," Hiashi concluded from the respectful gesture that he was given.

Kenji nodded as he began to walk toward the man, "Yes, I was the one to heal your wounds. Although I don't think we have been introduced. I am Kenji Yamamoto."

"I am Hoheto Hyuga," the man told him. They both knew the name was false, but appearances had to be kept since there was still a witness in the room.

Deciding to play along, Kenji smile, "It's a pleasure. Shame it has to be in these conditions."

Hiashi looked as stoic as usual. "So, I take it that my squad has already been eliminated."

The fat boy gave a shrug, "How knows? You'd have to ask Akame."

"Akame?"

As if on cue Akame peaked out of their tent and gave a yawn before dismissing Hiashi entirely.

"…So I take it that that little hellbeast is yours then," the Hyuga said bitterly giving him a deadpanned face.

Kenji gave him a wide grin rather than answering.

"I noticed that your taijutsu shares similarities with those of my clan," Hiashi inquired.

"I suppose it does. I am using your taijutsu as a base after all," Kenji confessed.

Hiashi cocked an eyebrow, "To think I would meet someone arrogant enough to say that the Hyuga's Gentle Fist is nothing but a base."

Kenji huffed, "Well, it's not like I have the byakugan to help me. I think I've done pretty good at copying your clan's fighting style."

"That's quite the big head you have their child, to claim to be able to copy our fighting style," the disguised man said shaking his head from side to side.

This caused Kenji to smile, "Then how about a bet?"

Hiashi gave Kenji a searching gaze, "What sort of wager?"

"First the rewards. Seeing as we took your headband and your Captain's badge, you will most likely be our prisoner until this mock-war ends. That could take anywhere between a day to a week at most. Now I am sure that you don't want to spend the next couple of days in a dingy cave like this, so if you win, I'll convince my Captain to destroy your headband and your badge. With them gone, we no longer have a reason to hold you here, and you are free to go back to your lavish clan compound," Kenji explained. Sure it didn't seem like much of a reward, but that was frankly the best that Kenji was willing to give.

"And if you win?"

"If I win, then you have to give me pointers for my taijutsu," Kenji said it nonchalantly.

Hiashi looked like he was thinking it over, "…and the rules for this wager?"

Kenji stood in front of the prison cell well out of arms reach, "I bet that I will be able to replicate one of your clan's signature techniques?"

Hiashi narrowed his eyes before scoffing, "Now I am certain you are mad. I'll admit that your fighting style resembles ours, but do you really expect me to believe that you've managed to replicate one of my clans' techniques."

The small boy swayed on his tippy-toes back and forth looking like the very definition of mischievous imp, "Maa, maa, I don't see why you're so hesitant. If you really believe that, then there's nothing to fear. Plus, you don't stand to lose anything if you think about it."

"…"

Hiashi looked at the boy in front of him, the veins around his eyes bulging as he activated his byakugan. There was nothing special about the chubby boy, other than having mid-genin level reserves. "…Very well, I accept this wager. Show me this supposed technique."

Kenji continued to smile as he brought out his index finger and middle finger and poked his opposite shoulder.

The Akimichi girl that had been ease dropping, found this entirely anti-climatic.

Hiashi on the other hand scowled. 'How is this possible. He closed one of his chakra points similia- no, exactly like someone from my clan. Did someone perhaps teach him? If they did, they must be punished immediately for disclosing clan secrets to an outsider.'

Seeing as he got the desire effect, Kenji unblocked his chakra points.

Yep, Kenji was proud to say that he was able to use part of the Gentle Fist. Not enough to fight someone like the Hyuga's but certainly enough to block and unblock his own chakra points. He had actually stumbled onto this while he was in the library, researching famous ninjas.

Apparently there had been a famous Kiri-nin a couple years back, during the Second Shinobi War, that had been famous for his tracking technique. Since this book was in the civilian library, it didn't have that much information on the actual invents since they were classified, but it did have some interesting eye-witness reports. A civilian doctor that had been working in the front lines wrote that this Kiri-nin was most certainly a sensor of some kind, since when they had brought in his body, they had noticed that the man was blind. The one who had taken him down, had been a Hyuga that had only been a genin at the time. When the doctor had asked how the small boy had done it this was what he had said.

' _-it was scary. I-I don't know how long I ran. He struck in the middle of the night, took out my entire squad before I even knew it … no matter how hard I tried to hide he would always find me … So I back tracked back to my camp hoping to at least get some of my supplies. It was then that a stupid idea came to me. I didn't have much choice, so I acted fast. I grabbed one of my deceased teammates bodies and placed them inside on of the tents, I then performed the Gentle Fist on the body and hid them behind some supply packs. I then coated the inside of the tent with explosive tags and ran away. … I had been running for about 10 minutes before I heard an explosion. After a couple of hours of waiting, I returned to camp and found the chard body of the enemy. …I sincerely regret what I had to do with my comrade's body-'_

That by itself wasn't much, but when you took into account all of the facts, things began to get clear. Kenji had previously tried to replicate the Hyuga's way of blocking and unblocking the chakra points but had found that it was much harder than it seemed. Sure it was an open secret that they used their fingers to push chakra into an opponents chakra points, but it was more than just that.

Kenji had found the first clue to their secret in the boy's careless statement. Just how did a sensory shinobi confuse a dead body to that of the boy? How did the chakra stick to the body long enough for the boy to get away? It took days of late-night practice behind closed doors for Kenji to finally figure it out.

Shape transformation.

All anyone knew about the technique was that you needed to inject chakra into a chakra point for it to be blocked. But what if it was already blocked? Wouldn't injecting more chakra just do the same thing.

The answer was simple. The Hyuga's created a thin chakra needle the same size as the chakra point. When they attack, they extended this needle at the moment of contact to reach the chakra points inside the body, similar to what a jellyfish's tentacles would do when it touched someone.

It didn't stop there however. Once they had pierced this chakra point, they break off a part of the needle and leave it behind to block the flow of chakra. To unblock it, all they needed to do is hit it again with a chakra strike, until it was completely through the chakra point.

In simple terms, picture stabbing a running hose into the ground with a wooden stake. That cuts the flow of water immediately, but you can use a hammer to push the stake all the way through and allowing the water to flow again. He was sure that there was more to the technique, but this was all Kenji could get out of his own experimentation.

This would also explain how Naruto was able to unblock his chakra points during the fight with Neji. Hinata had also done something similar when she had fought off those bees, using an extra-long chakra needle to cut them in half.

The only reason why Kenji had been able to do it at all, was because he had perfect chakra control and was able to feel the location of his chakra points. Still, even with the byakugan, the pure skill and precision needed to perform this on a moving target during combat was enormous. Kenji's opinion on the clan had risen as a whole after this.

Hiashi looked composed on the outside, but Kenji could see that his eyes had turn into glaciers when they stared at him. "Who was the one to teach you," he questioned in a clipped tone.

Kenji decided to throw him a bone. "You know, it's amazing what you can find in the civilian library. I'm sure that not many from your clan goes their since you probably have your own library and all but still."

The Hyuga's expression lessened as he deactivated his dojutsu. "You learned this all from a book?" he asked skeptically.

The small bow shook his head, "No, of course not."

"Then how?"

"Well it's a personal hobby of mine to research famous jutsu and recreate them. It's sort of like doing a jigsaw puzzle. There just happened to be a book that gave me the final pieces needed to finish the puzzle," Kenji explained.

Now Hiashi's interest in this supposed book were peaked. He would need to retrieve this book and dispose of it before anyone else was able to figure out the clan's techniques. "I would appreciate it, if you were to tell me the name of this book?"

Kenji felt a tingling sensation on the back of his spine, telling him there was a chance to make money here. "I don't know? I already said more than I should. Plus, there really wasn't nearly enough for someone to figure your clan's techniques."

"You were able to figure it out," the clan head pointed out.

Kenji gave a fox like smile, "What can I say, I'm one of a kind."

Hiashi could immediately see the intentions of the boy as he gave a sigh, "Then perhaps a trade is in order."

"Now that's an idea I like!"

"Well what is it you want in exchange for this information."

"Hmm… Oh I know," Kenji said before he held open his palm and took out a written contract from his ring. He had a number of different contracts in his ring for all manner of occasions.

Hiashi was able to keep a calm expression when he saw the paper materialize suddenly, regretting turn off his byakugan to see where it had come from.

"So in a few days once I pass this test-"

"If you pass this test."

"-once I pass this test, I plan to open up a shop. I'd really appreciate it if your clan would be willing to support an up-and-coming shop and its humble shop owner," Kenji said as he threw the contract between the bars with expert precision.

Hiashi snatched it easily and read through he contract and gave the small boy a raised eyebrow, "This is a pledge for a 300,000 ryo purchase."

Kenji could hear the girl choking on her spit when Hiashi had called out the amount. He shrugged in a what-can-you-do manner, "Everyone needs to make a living, and I can guarantee that my products will not disappoint. I make everything myself."

Haishi debated this before he asked Kenji something else, "Before I decided, what exactly were the contents of this book."

"Nothing special really, it was a biography from a doctor that was in the Second War. Apparently some unnamed Hyuga had managed to kill some famous hunter-nin by using his teammates dead body and a few explo-"

"Enough. I'll sign," Hiashi declared suddenly, surprising Kenji. Kenji took out a metal fountain pen from his ring and threw it towards him. When he went to write his name, nothing came out of the tip.

"Oh right, that pen is special, you need to click the top."

On the top of the pen was a small rubber piece that looked like it could be pushed inside. He clicked the pen and was alarmed to feel something stab at his thumb. He then noticed that the tip of the pen was leaking with his blood.

Kenji continued to smile in a fox like manner.

Hiashi scoffed, 'Really, this child. Making me write in my own blood. He must have nerves of steel.' Even if he was a tad annoyed, he still decided to sign it simply because he need the information. The last thing he wanted was for the clan to find out that it was his fault that an outsider now knew one of their techniques. He would make sure to personally destroy this book and erase any evidence of his past-self's carelessness.

When he was finished, Hiashi threw the paper for Kenji to examine.

Kenji began to carefully look it over to make sure that it was correct.

It was at this moment that Hiashi flicked the pen straight towards Kenji's headband, wanting to take the small boy out of the exam once and for all.

Kenji however wasn't a fool as he had activated a shield talisman as soon as he had given Hiashi the pen. It was a good thing that they acted automatically too, since Kenji didn't even see the pen until it hit the transparent barrier.

'He must have added chakra,' the chubby boy concluded as he saw the pen spinning, trying desperately to drill through the shield. He calmly plucked it out of the air, returning it and the contract back to his spatial ring. He deadpanned before quickly smiling at the Hyuga, "Well everything looks to be in order."

Hiashi didn't say anything, unable to believe what had just happened. In his eyes, whatever Kenji had used to block his attack looked close to the beginning stages of the Revolving Heaven technique. 'Who are you Kenji Yamamoto?'

"Well it's time for me to make dinner so I guess this is it for now. I'll be sure to ask for advice with my taijutsu next time," he said walking away. 'Damn, that was close.'

Kenji went through a couple of hand seals and four earth clones materialized out of the ground. Each one already knew what to do. One went to place traps around the entrance of the cave, while another would act as a scout, and the final one would begin to cook a delicious meal for the team.

What was the original Kenji doing? He went to his shared tent to practice his techniques. He placed a privacy talisman to block the byakugan as a precaution.

The first thing he did was take out a couple of slips of paper and inject them with chakra. He moved them around the small tent as if he was using telekinesis. He slowly began to add more paper slips, but even after he reached 600, exceeding his past limit by 500%, he still didn't feel mentally tired like he usually did.

It was then that he remembered something. 'Yang chakra can be used to breathe life into form. Could the Yang Seal somehow be automatically leaking into my chakra and changing it.'

Using the paper, he thought of making a human sculpture, and with a bit of practice he found that the chakra inside the paper followed his command as it tried to form a human shape. Looking at the blocky paper person he found that he was still in control of it. Immediately his mind raced with new ideas, the flying sword technique from xianxia novels being the most prominent.

Getting a small towel, he injected it with an adequate amount of chakra, making sure to not activate his upgrading ability by mistake. Taking a calming breath, Kenji tried to make it fly around the room like the pieces of paper. For six minutes, nothing happened but his determination finally paid off as he managed to get the small hand towel to levitate 2 cm off the ground before he lost control.

Kenji finally felt the mental exhausting hit, but he was still happy. It would take a lot of practice, but he was sure that he would one day be able to use flying swords.

For the following couple of hours, Kenji chose to meditate with Akame.

With their connection completely opened, Kenji could identify the small amount of nature energy being drawn into Akame. All chakra beasts that had a chakra crystal were able to do this naturally he had found out. And unlike people, they could do this even when they were moving. They would condense this energy around their crystal and begin the process of adding another layer.

He was curious if it was possible to learn sage mode this way. Using Akame to collect the nature energy and then filtering it into his own chakra pathways. Akame could also suck the energy out of him, if it looked like he was turning to stone too.

It was around 6 pm when his team finally returned, looking beat up, but generally well off.

"Damn, you guys look like shit," Kenji couldn't help but comment.

They laughed as they passed him. Their stomachs rumbling in hunger as they smelled the cave that was filled with all manner of delicious smells.

Tsubaki limped toward him and smiled, "Something smells really good."

"Welcome back Captain," he said bowing, "Yep, I have dinner all prepared. I also took the liberty of adding another room in the cave that can be used for bathing."

He walking to a side of the room that had a long hanging curtain. Pulling the curtain back, there was a bowl-shaped hole in the ground with the sides and bottom being smooth thanks to heating it with a fire jutsu. It was already filled to the brim with water. Kenji took out a red, flame chakra crystal and stuck it under the water, channeling some chakra through it. Immediately the temperature of the water rose as it began to steam. "There, perfect for a bath. When everyone is done, there is a plug at the bottom that can be taken out so that it can drain the water into a pipe that leads off the side of the mountain."

Tsubaki look stunned at all the Kenji had been able to do while they were out, "You really are full of surprises."

As expected, everyone cheered at the inclusion of a bath since most of them were starting to stink, especially after a battle.

When everyone finished their bath, Kenji began to take out the food that his clone had prepared. Since he hadn't been specific, the clone had taken it upon itself to do its very best, so it had gone with a Chinese's style buffet as the theme. Plates of fried rice, egg rolls, orange chicken, sweet and sour pork, potstickers, beef with broccoli, steamed buns, and soup were passed around.

Everyone looked like they hadn't eaten in days with the way they were looking at the food. Almost immediately they began to sing praises about his food. Kenji would mentally tally up which dish got the most reaction so that he would later add them to his shop's menu. If only using a few ingredients from the cultivation tank was able to get this response, then surely a complete meal using only cultivated ingredients would be without equal.

Their prisoners were also given their share, after the Akimichi girl started complaining about pesky human rights and us being selfish for hording all of this delicious food for ourselves. Hiashi had too much pride to complain, but even he was drawn to the fragrant aroma of the food, as his nostrils would flare up every couple of seconds to inhale just a bit more of the smell.

When they were all sitting around the campfire, Kenji passed out two bottles of Lion Breath Sake. He wanted to test if it was safe for extended periods of use, …was what he told himself.

Then he took out a small guitar out of his ring and tuned it in front of them.

"Ah, a dinner and a show, what more could I ask for," Yuuto said as he held out his own cup of sake next to him.

Kenji rolled his eyes but smiled anyways. Just a week ago he would have never even thought that he would come to think of anyone as a teammate. He chose a song from Adult Kenji's memories that embodied these new feelings of comradeship.

" _Oh, misty eye of the mountain below  
Keep careful watch of my brothers' souls  
And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke  
Keep watching over Konoha's sons_

 _If this is to end in fire  
Then we should all burn together  
Watch the flames climb high into the night  
Calling out for the rope, sent by and we will  
Watch the flames burn on and on the mountain side hey_

 _And if we should die tonight  
Then we should all die together  
Raise a glass of wine for the last time  
Calling out for the rope  
Prepare as we will  
Watch the flames burn on and on the mountain side  
Desolation comes upon the sky…"_

 **(Time skip)**

Kenji woke up as soon as he felt the flux of chakra only a few inches away from him. He stayed quite for a moment and clenched the kunai hidden under his pillow. He heard the flapping of wings as the tent flap was opened.

Sitting up, he noticed that Tsubaki was still in her sleeping bag but the cage holding the captured bird used for reconnaissance was open, and the bird was gone.

Looking at her closely, Kenji noticed that the blonde now wore an engagement ring on her finger.

Akame who had also woken up, looked up at Kenji, and saw that the plump boy had a small frown on his face before it became melancholy and finally turned into a face of understanding.

"Akame, I need you to do something?"

 **(Time Skip)**

"I'm going," Kenji said to Tsubaki as they all prepared to leave the cave.

"Kenji I don't think that is a good idea-"

"Please Captain, like you said, I am the only medic in the team-"

"Which is why you should-"

"-go. I'll be of more use to the team if I come along, since I can heal them on the spot. If you don't feel certain then we should leave it to a vote."

She did just that, with the majority electing to bring the small shinobi with them. Tsubaki bit her nail, kinda disappointed that the team still didn't trust her completely. "Fine, but I take point."

"Deal, I'll leave some earth clones to watch the prisoners while we are out so no need to worry."

Kenji was already prepared as he wore a blue robe over his chain mail that boosted speed. Two metal bracers that boosted his strength and hand speed. And finally, a necklace that gave him 1500 extra points in chakra, with a small boost to elemental manipulation.

They left without a second to waste. It was already Day 3 and there were only a few teams left. Four red and three greens including them. Kenji needed this exam to end fast, if he was going to meet the deadline to buy that farm land in order to build his shop.

"So what way are we going?" Kenji asked Tsubaki.

"I scouted the area yesterday using my bird. There's an enemy camp along the base of that mountain over there. Unfortunately, the entrance is well guarded, and they will spot us if we try to take them head on. Luckily their base is connected with a network of interconnecting tunnels. There's a secret pass between these two canyons here that leads into one of these networks of cave. From there, we can just follow it all the way back to their base and take them by surprise," she explained as she pushed her glasses up, and letting the sun shine off them.

"Wow Captain, that's a pretty good plan," Kenji praised her, causing Tsubaki to preen.

"Kahum. Yes well, I can't always rely on others for everything," she stated with a smile as she began to lead them toward the direction of the mountain path.

He nodded, "That's true."

Lin-Lin was on his shoulder with her tongue out, enjoying the wind as they sprinted through the tree tops. Akame was hiding in his shadow acting as his sensor and back up if he needed it.

When they got closer to the canyons, he saw that there was a wide path between the two canyon walls.

They began to walk, with everyone being on guard for any traps.

Feeling eyes on them, Kenji looked up and saw that a lone hawk was staring at them from the top of the canyon wall. Despite it being so high in the air, Kenji could see that it was entirely white and black.

He ignored it and made his way to the front of the group. He walked just behind Tsubaki, who was taking point, and decided to start a conversation.

"So Tsubaki, did you ever manage to find the answer you were looking for?"

"Huh?" she glanced back at him for a second before turning back to the front, "Oh! You mean about our conversation by the river."

"Yeah, I noticed that you looked more relaxed, so I'm guessing you found an answer."

"…I did actually," the blonde whispered tilting her head downward.

"That's good. You know I also found the answer to my own dilemma," the boy threw in happily.

"That's great. I'm happy for you Kenji," Tsubaki said as she turned around to give him a smile.

However, the second she did, Kenji rushed at her and struck her with a chakra palm in her gut, knocking the wind out of her. Then he struck with precise finger jabs around her body that managed to paralyze her. She crumbled to the ground, but Kenji caught her at the last second.

The blonde could see that everyone in her squad had a serious expression as they took out their weapons. However, their attention wasn't on Kenji, but Tsubaki that was forced to kneel in front of them. She then felt Kenji grab a hold of her head and place a kunai on her throat.

Kenji still had a small smile on his face, as if he hadn't just attacked his friend and was holding a knife to their neck. "Thanks Tsubaki, I decided to listen to my heart and give this person a chance you know? I guess we both did what we thought was right huh?"

She gulped for air but didn't say anything when she felt the blade nick her skin.

"So, I just want you to know, that I'm not mad or anything. I completely understand where you are coming from. I'd be a hypocrite if said I wouldn't have done the same." Kenji confessed.

"…"

"No point in hiding it now. But I am curious. Are you starting to regret your decision?" the small boy asked with small frown.

"…No. I don't regret my decision?" she admitted with a straight back as conviction flowed through her.

Slowly his frown morphed into a wide smile, "That's good, I'd have lost any respect I have for you if you had said yes. Your fiancé must be one hell of a man. By the way, I liked to apologize before hand for what I am about to do. Hope we can still be friends after this."

Without another word, Kenji pulled on her hair and Tsubaki yelped in pain as some of her hair was ripped off by the roots.

Kenji tilted his head an inch to the left and avoided the kunai that had been thrown at him. Looking at the direction where it had come from, he saw an older boy, about 17 years old, glaring murder at him from on top of the canyon wall. Immediately more shinobi began to appear on the ledge seeing that their cover had been blown. All of them carryied red headbands.

"Ah, so this must be him. Oh, he managed to gather his fellow captains too, but I'm guessing you had some part in that too huh?" Kenji spoke nonchalantly as if they were discussing this over a tea party.

"I give you 3 seconds to unhand my fiancé or I'll rip of those hands and beat you into a bloody pulp with them!" the teen shouted angrily.

Kenji gave him a 'not-bad' face as he looked to Tsubaki, "He seems nice."

Everyone was tensed as they awaited the unspoken signal for the battle to commence. Everyone but Kenji that is.

"Hello up there! I don't think we've been introduced, I'm Kenji Yamamoto. I'm a friend of Tsubaki, well not so much right now but you get the idea. What do I call you?"

"…"

"Ah, I get it, not much one for banter. I can understand that-"

'Jerk, the traps are set.'

"not much point this late in the game right. But I want to ask you a question before we begin. Whose idea was this?"

"…"

"I-It was m-my idea."

Kenji looked at Tsubaki with gaze full of respect, "Not bad Tsubaki, and you said you weren't good in strategizing. I might even have a job opening for you at my shop after all of this."

Turning to face the angered fiancé Kenji spoke in a sweet voice, "You should be proud of her, you know. It was a good plan. Unfortunately for you, you made three mistakes."

"First, I'm always prepared for the unexpected."

Immediately everyone in the squad formed a protective circle around him and Tsubaki.

"Second, I don't take betrayal very well."

The red team's Captain didn't get the chance to even yell, as Kenji took out a Monkey Talisman and slapped it on Tsubaki's back. Her entire body flashed white for a fraction of a second and the next she had been turned into a transparent glass statue, her horrified expression captured perfectly. The man felt his heart get ripped out of his chest.

Kenji seeing that he had successful unbalance their leader, placed Tsubaki into his ring for safe keeping. Her badge and headband had been replaced with fakes earlier that morning, so she was still technically in the exam.

"And finally, your last mistake, was choosing me as your opponent!"

He held up a ram seal and activated Stumpy's seed pods, that Akame had planted all around the ground, sacrificing some of his chakra reserves to activate the Yang Seal on his arm to make it extra potent.

Immediately enormous thorny vines erupted from the ground and began to form a dome-shaped cocoon around the squad just as the first of the fire balls reached them.

Kenji and Tsubaki's fiancé looked into each other's eyes, calm amber meeting murderous brown, before the vines blocked them completely.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Finally finished and Stumpy the wood beetle saves the day.**

 **Now it is time to clear a few things that you all must be wondering.**

 **First, I'd like to start by stating that Kenji won't be taking on the whole Senju name and stuff, he's too prideful to just be known as a Senju. He wants to create his own legend not borrow from the past. Like I said before, at least a quarter of the leaf village has some Senju blood in them. He also isn't the secret great-grandchild of the First or Second, just someone from the branch family. He also doesn't have wood release yet, the vines are from the wood beetle's missile like seeds.**

 **However! Expect that Kenji and the Third will be having some words later about this issue.**

 **Now, did you like Kaguya's offer? ;)**

 **I will warn ahead of time, that his appearance will change to suit this new role. But I will give a hint of who I am modeling it over. Hints: small animal that turns into large beast, anime was mentioned in past chapters, lost an arm too, and is known as a Dog General. Those are all the hints.**

 **So with this chapter, he made another important connection with a ninja clan. You go dough boy.**

 **Was Tsubaki's betrayal surprising? It shouldn't have. I've been foreshadowing it since the beginning after all. Plus, it's not like Kenji will blame her, since he is practically betraying the entire human race by siding with Kaguya.**

 **Did you all like the song? It is 'I see Fire' by Ed Sheeren. I thought it fit the theme nicely.**

 **Also I know this would be the last chapter for the genin exam, but I ended righting too much, and was forced to cut it off here, otherwise it would be like 17K.**

 **Now to answer a couple of questions:**

 **So one of the most common is, why the Hokage leave Kenji alone just because the Daimyo's wife said so? The answer is that right know the Leaf is in a bind. They are still recovering from the Kyuubi attack and are late on the taxes. The land is technically belongs to the Land of Fire since the past Daimyo only gave the First Hokage permission to build the village, kinda of like a lord, in exchange for their loyalty. Not to mention that the Leaf is mostly military base, so it needs to import like 95% of their supplies from the rest of the country, which the Daimyo can restrict at any time.**

 **While the Leaf is no doubt strong, that doesn't mean that they can just defy the entire country. Obviously it's more complicated than that, and I'll cover it later in the story.**

 **Another good question is if people would try to get Kenji into their family, to get more influence over him. That's actually going to be a recurring theme in the story, with Kenji quickly turning the tables on them to make a profit.**

 **Also don't expect Kenji to hang around the main characters like some sort of groupie or terrible self-insert. He has his own life and goals, and this story will mostly be about that. So he won't exactly be all buddy-buddy with Naruto and Sasuke. Give them advice? Sure. Sell them some overpriced equipment? Most definitely. Become the fourth member of team 7? Never.**

 **Oh, before I forget. The time line is two years before the start of the series. Right now Kenji is 10 and so is the rest of the Rookie 9.**

 **I'll answer more of your questions in the next chapter.**

 **But until then, I hope I quenched your fiction addiction. Bye-Bye/**


	15. Dog General takes the stage

**Discalimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references mentioned in this fanfic.**

 **A/N at the bottom.**

 **Chapter 15**

Seeing the large vines block the last rays of sunlight Kenji couldn't help but sigh.

'Damn, acting like the villain is such hard work. I should give myself a raise.'

Getting an oil lantern from his ring, he lit and placed it in the center of the room to shed some light.

All around him, were the grim expressions of his squad. He had warned them last night about Tsubaki's probable betrayal. They hadn't believed him completely of course, but at least promised to keep a closer eye on her. Through out their walk, Kenji had been secretly giving them hand signals, telling them that they were being led in a trap and were surrounded.

One of the them finally broke the silence, "…So _Vice_ -Captain, on the scale of 1 to 10, how fucked are we?"

"About yo mama's level, sooo pretty fucked," Kenji said getting a humorless chuckle from everyone. "Don't worry guys I have a plan."

"Is it a good plan?"

"…I have a plan."

"God Damn it, how could she do this to us!" a female kunoichi yelled as she slammed a fist against the wall of vines.

Immediately Kenji rushed to her and pulled her back by the scruff of her shirt just as tendrils of barbed vines lashed at her.

"…Right, I should probably mention this now, but don't touch the walls," the chubby boy said as he let go of the stunned girl. Truthfully even he was shocked by the sudden aggressiveness of the vines, he guessed that it was a by product of the Yang chakra.

Yuuto suddenly spoke up, "Oh, right I've been mean to ask about that. What the fuck kid! You never said you were a fucking Senju!"

Kenji rolled his eyes, not that anyone could see, "I'm not a Senju."

"Oh I see, I'm sorry then. I guess that this giant plant dome is just my imagination," the black-haired youth said sarcastically as he pointed around him.

"Now, now, there's no need to be an ass. I have a very good explanation for this."

"Oh, then what is it?"

"I found a certain item that produce rapidly growing vines. I planted them in the ground beforehand and activated them when the time was right. See, not a Senju, just clever thinking," he explained.

Everyone was looking at him with skeptical eyes, "Then why don't you show us this item?"

"…I used them all up so there aren't any more," Kenji confessed, chastising himself for not saving at least one of them for proof.

"Riiight," Yuuto said with deadpanned eyes.

Kenji sighed, if this went on then they would steadily lose their trust in him. "Fine, seeing as were in this pretty deep, I see no harm in telling you guys one of my secret. I know it will come as surprise to all of you, but the truth is that I'm currently wearing a disguise!"

His dramatic reveal had no impact whatsoever, if you didn't count their deadpanned expression that is.

"Behold!" the small chubby boy shouted as he ripped off his beard and mustache. '…Ow. That really hurt. Forgot I superglued them to my face.' Kenji was barely able to hold back the tears. "I-I n-not done yet!" This time he took off his bandana and pinched his forehead, where he knew the invisible Monkey Talisman was.

He ripped it off in one go, and his image flashed white before it morphed into his original form.

No longer was he the short dumpling kid they had all grown accustomed to seeing. Instead they saw an adorable young boy that could easily be mistaken for a nobleman's child, with skin so fare that he looked like an expensive porcelain doll. They could finally see that his sharp eyes were a soft amber. His chocolate brown hair fell all of the way to his waist looking shinier and healthier than even the girls in the group. The fat around his body had also disappeared, showing a lean body. Frankly the least remarkable change was that he had grown two inches in height.

"Fuck! Mother fucker! Sunnova- Is there nothing that's real anymore," one of his team members exclaimed as he fell to his knees. Others also began to shout curses and such. Many of the girls actually looked angry and envious that he had better skin and hair than them.

Kenji ignored their reaction, as he needed to adjust his clothes now that he was skinny again and his clothes had come loose. He tied his long hair in a loose ponytail so that it wouldn't get in the way while he was fighting. 'Oh right, I don't need these anymore,' he thought as he took the enemy's badges and crushed them in his hands. 'There, now the earth clones back at the base can release them.'

After a few minutes they all calmed down.

"Wait, what happened to the Capta- I mean Tsubaki? Is she dead," a girl asked a little worried.

"What? No! Why would you think that?" Kenji said surprised at the accusation.

Yuuto stepped up with arms crossed, "Yes well, the last time I checked, being turned into glass tends to be bad for someone's health."

The small boy just waved his concerns away, "Don't worry about it, she just had the transformation jutsu forcibly applied to her. I'll set her free when we are done?"

"You can do that!?"

"Well I'm not sure about you, but I can," he told them as he turned serious, "Okay enough of that. I have a plan and a way for all of you to pass?"

Everyone looked around unsure, "How certain are you?"

"Strictly speaking, I already passed, even if I were to break my headband right now. The only reason why I'm doing this, is because I thought I should at least help you guys out"

"…Okay we'll listen. What's this plan?"

"Great! But first leave your headbands here, and I'll tell you over there," Kenji exclaimed as he placed his headband gently on the ground and began to walk closer to the wall.

"Why?"

"Just do it, I'll tell you why in a second."

Everyone reluctantly placed their headbands on the ground and formed a group around Kenji.

"Right, so this is what is going to happen-"

 **(Monitor Room)**

Silence.

Absolute silence.

No one moved as the tension in the room was thick enough to be cut with a kunai. Everyone felt like they had just witnessed something they shouldn't have.

The head table was also in turmoil, as their narrowed gazes looked toward the Hokage, who was the only one that looked composed as he smoked his pipe.

"You don't appear too shocked, Hokage-sama," Shikaku finally said as he stood up straight in his chair.

"What can I say, Kenji Yamamoto tends to exceed all expectations," the Third said, even if in his mind he was screaming. His gut was right, he only hopped that there wasn't any more surprise. He wasn't sure if his old heart could take it.

"God, I need a drink! You! Go get me something strong!" Tsume shouted at the closest research monkey as she threw some ryo bills at him. The startled scientist looked like he was about to protest, but a glare from the Inuzuka matriarchy made him hold his tongue and rush out of the room.

"This is going to be such a head ache," Inoichi sighed as he slumped in his chair.

Even Choza had a frown on his face as he stopped stuffing his face.

"For the moment, it would be best if this news didn't leave this room," the Hokage said in a calm manner.

"What doesn't leave this room?" a sudden voice asked. Madam Shijimi and the Daimyo walked through the door that was left open, from the grunt's earlier escape.

'Fuck my life.'

 **(Scene Change)**

Everyone looked unsure after Kenji explained his plan to them.

It was simple really, just create enough damage to stand out and get the attention from one of the branches of the military. The problem was that they were currently being pinned down by the Red team and would get eliminated as soon as they stepped one foot outside.

"How sure are you again?"

Kenji sighed, "Fine then. For those of you who didn't pass and can't take the test again, I will personally offer you a job in my shop after this is all over."

"Look Vice-Captain, it's not just that. How are we supposed to fight a group 10 times our size?"

Like a tiger that was staking his prey, Kenji jumped on the moment that he had been waiting for. "I see. I suppose there is no harm in showing you some of the things I plan to sell in my shop."

Kenji took out a wooden chest from his ring. He unlocked the padlock began to spread out its contents on the ground.

The first item was a black spandex suit, similar to Gai's. Next were a set of metal arm and leg bracers that were silver in color. A thin, leather, sleeveless vest with extra padding was placed besides this. Next was an ordinary looking belt with three pouches. The last thing he took out were two beautifully crafted glass vials. One was purple with silver flakes and the other was red with gold flakes.

"Right-o. I call this the basic starter kit. This thing is currently the best equipment you'll get in the village. Come here have a go? Try to stab through this jumpsuit," Kenji invited a kunoichi how looked skeptical at the thin spandex material.

She stepped forward and took out a kunai from her pouch. Channeling chakra into her arms she stabbed downward with all her strength.

Klink

The kunai snapped at the handle and with the blade sent flying in a random direction.

"Argh! My Leg!"

She held up the handle to her face and looked impressed. "Not bad."

He stepped forward and gave them a large grin before he began to talk like a used-car salesman, "Yep, this jumpsuit will be able to block most edge weapons with ease. Made with the finest materials I could find, this allows ease of movement like no other while offering the protection of full plate armor. Likewise, the bracers and vest are strong enough to hold back most weapons and some low elemental jutsu. The belt has a few surprises as well. In the first pouch you will find some medical supplies, the second will have an analyzing kit to test poisons and foreign materials, and the third will have some a randomly given ninja item. Finally, we reach the beauties of this kit, the madams, the lovely twins! May I present to you the Amethyst Potion and her lovely sister the Red Tortoise Potion! The Amethyst Potion will immediately replenish lost chakra without the side affects of the solider pill, while the Red Tortoise Potion will heal the body. Just dab a small amount on superficial cuts and watch it heal in seconds. Poisoned? Don't worry about it, just drink the entire bottle and be amazed as you are healed instantly! Still not satisfied? Then for a limited time offer, I will throw in a chastity ring free of charge!"

They clapped in awe, getting swept in the mood.

Yuuto grinned, "Looks like I misjudged you Vice-Captain. I didn't think you would give this to us for free."

"Free?" Kenji said confused before he hurriedly packed everything back into the chest and locked it, "I never said it was free."

"B-but you- Then- What about the enemies outside?!" a boy asked.

"I told you guys, that I already passed the test. This is more for your benefit than it is for mine. All I'm doing is offering you guys a chance to even the odds since I have a sense of fondness with you guys," he explained.

"But we don't have any money! How are we supposed to buy anything?" said a girl as she fell to her knees.

"Not to worry, I have that all figured out," the boy said as he took out a stack of papers and held them up, "Ta-da! Contracts!"

For a split second they all swore they saw his shadow gain a fiendish smile and devil horns before it was gone as the flame from the lantern flickered again. They told themselves it was a trick of the light and chose to ignore the unsettling feeling in their gut.

"How much?"

"100,000 ryo," Kenji said with a shark like grin.

"What!?"

"Vice-Captain, can't you please lower the price," a pretty girl said with a cute whine as she twirled her black hair with her finger trying to use her charm.

Kenji's smile grew even larger, "Well, it just so happens that pretty girls get a discount?"

"Really! Then how much do I gotta pay now," she said excitedly, throwing the small boy a bright smile.

"100,000 ryo," he responded with an equally bright smile.

Immediately her smile dropped, "W-what? But what about the pretty-girl discount?!"

"What about it?" Kenji said mercilessly.

The girl to stumbled back as if she had just been physically struck.

"Ooph, she gonna need a Red Potion for that," Yuuto commented with a wince.

Everyone stood around unsure if they should take the deal or not. For many, this would be their last chance to be a shinobi. To some, being a shinobi would be their golden ticket, either to escape poverty or bring honor to their family.

It was exactly for this reason that Akira chose to accept this deal. His father was a member of the civilian council and had always pushed him to become a shinobi. Back in the Academy, he had been in the elite class thanks to his father's influence, and he thought that he was pretty good too, until he took the silver-haired jerk's test. But when he and his team were tested by their jonin teacher, not only had they failed the test but were also sent back to the academy without the chance to ask for another teacher, being forced to take the genin exam for the reserves.

"I'll sign," Akira said with determined eyes as they looked at Kenji unflinching.

"Great, and since you were the first, I'll give you a special gift," the cheerful boy told him, as he handed the boy the contract.

Seeing Akira sign, more began to come forward. In the end, everyone but Yuuto signed a contract.

Kenji also was true to his word and presented Akira with 3 Shield Talismans.

Safely tucking away his new contracts, Kenji clapped his hands to get everyone's attention, "Great, now then, you should all take this time to get accustomed with the new equipment. We have a about an hour-"

'40 minutes.'

"-40 minutes before the other team begins their counter attack."

They all collected their headbands, now that all of the secret information was said.

Looking threw his inventory, Kenji took out a brass telescope with little three knobs on the side that looked like a ship's steering wheel. It was a simple yet elegant item with tiny pictures of sea creatures engraved on it. It was one of the many things that he had bought from the antique store, chosen basely on the amount of emotional energy stored inside it.

 **Look-See Telescope 12**

 **Quality: Low-Human**

 **Defense: 100**

 **420**

 **10: Can see up to 100 miles away.**

 **12: Able to ignore most obstacles in its path.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 200**

This was the perfect tool for navigators and sea captains,… as well as spies. The original owner must have been one heck of an old sea dog for it to have these effects.

Kenji tossed it, to Yuuto who was standing to the side as everyone was putting on their new armor. "Seeing as you aren't doing anything, keep a look out for any strange activity form the enemy."

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

"It can see through certain materials, try to look through the vine wall. Just use the knobs on the side to adjust the distance," Kenji explained as he sat down on the ground lotus style.

Yuuto looked unsure but did it anyways. Amazingly when he looked through the lens he was able to see through the vine wall and into the canyon wall that was full of enemy ninja. Immediately a large grin settled on his face as he tried to find the direction of the village. "Don't you worry Vice-Captain. You can count on me."

"Good, I'm going to meditate for a bit, don't disturb me," the small boy said as he closed his eyes.

 **(Scene Change)**

Kenji looked back at Kaguya, who was giving him a small smile. They were back in the throne room with the giant tree, the only difference was that Kenji was no longer the size of an ant. He still looked small, but know he was the same size as a regular boy when he stood next to Kaguya.

"So, you have made your choice," Kaguya asked with a melodious voice.

Breathing in deeply, Kenji nodded, "I have My Lady, I accept your offer if you will still have me."

"I am delighted to hear this," she told him.

"If I may ask My Lady, what exactly is it that you want me to do? You weren't very specific the last time we talked."

"Of course, your duty from now on is to be my voice in this world. You shall prepare the world for my arrival to the best of your abilities. Make them stronger through any means necessary, just so long as they can survive my power. And while I will not ask you to fight by my side, I would appreciate greatly if you were to not intervene during this time. This is their test, not yours after all."

Kenji could do that, act as the secret benefactor and such just so long as no one would find out. Plus there was always money to be made during a war, and he was sure to make a fortune in this one. Low risk, high reward was just how he liked it. "Anything else you desire?"

"Yes. I will ask you to perform certain task from time to time. You will be rewarded accordingly so do not fear," she threw in, knowing it would appeal to his business side.

She was right again, as Kenji's face lit up at the thought of getting another special ability, maybe even one that could make him some real money.

"As for your final objective. I wish to experience the outside world."

"…What?"

"I ask to experience one day of living among the mortals. A single day out of the year should be enough. Your task will be to find me an appropriate vessel and act as my guide during this time."

Kenji mouth dried up faster than Suna's desert. 'I feel like I've just been conned. I can't back out either since I already said yes. Well played My Lady.' "I will do my best to meet your expectations My Lady."

Kaguya smiled pleasantly, feeling the change from doubt into determination inside the small boy.

"Now then, to finalize this deal," the goddess said as she snapped her fingers and the ground turned into a gold metallic sea.

"M-My Lady?" Kenji asked nervously when he saw something moving under the water.

"Fear not, Kenji Yamamoto, for I will bestow you the power necessary to overcome all obstacles. Now rise and do my will on this earth as my right hand," she said so softly that Kenji almost didn't hear her.

The next second, massive canine teeth the size of pillars immerged from either side of him before snapped shut, swallowing him whole.

"This shall be your first task. Prove to me that I was not mistaken in electing you?"

 **(Scene Change)**

Kenji lurched forward, he placed a hand to cover his mouth, but it was no use, he was unable to stop the black water from escaping.

He continued to expel all the water in his stomach, the amount already going beyond what his stomach was capable of holding, but it still didn't look like stopping.

He felt tears run down his face and something drip from his nose.

This went on for three minutes straight before Kenji's stomach was finally empty.

Glancing up, Kenji noticed that his teammates were all giving him scared and concerned looks. "Haaa haaa. W-What?"

Getting up from the pool of black vomit, Kenji wiped his face with the back of his hands and notice they had some black smudges. Getting a mirror, he ignored everyone's stare and began to fix himself. He quickly noticed the two black tear tracks running down his eyes, as well as the blood coming out of his nose.

"Are you okay," Yuuto asked, his voice having a hint of fear at the thought of something bad happening to the small boy again.

"Don't worry about it. Now is everyone ready, I'm going to go over the battle plan one more time," Kenji said trying to change the subject.

For the next couple of minutes, he went over the plan, pointing out each of their objectives. They gave him worried looks but didn't ask any questions, which he was thankful for.

In reality, Kenji was studying his body. A quick medical examination showed that there was nothing wrong with his body. In fact it was quite the opposite. His body had been purged of all toxins and harmful elements. The skeletal and muscle system had also been strengthened. His circulatory system and many of his organs had also been improved by several degrees.

The chakra flowing in him also felt strange, feeling cleaner as if it had also been purged of any impurities. It also had the annoying habbit of changing texture, moving as smooth as a running stream but with the density of stone. The only obvious down side too all of this was a horrible twisting feeling in his stomach.

"-great. Now that everyone knows their part, lets get this party started," he shouted getting excited cheers from everyone. The new armor was obviously doing it's job of raising moral.

Kenji handed everyone 20 Dragon Talismans as they all took their position around the edge of the wall.

'Will I get to fight,' Akame whine since lately she hadn't had of a chance to fight. She was still a Chakra Beast after all, and her species were made for fighting. They felt a certain drive to accumulate a large amount of chakra, and there was no better way than to eat those with large chakra reserves. Whether it was a human or a chakra beast didn't matter much to them.

"You know what, go ahead, just make sure not to injure them too badly."

'Yes!'

Kenji felt Akame shadow-hop to Lin-Lin.

"Okay, remember to point the talismans away from you!" the small boy shouted as he connected to his chakra still inside of the vines to open small windows in front of all of them. "Now!"

As one they activate the talismans and 19 giant fireballs flew out of the plant dome.

Kenji could feel the intense heat, as the 10-foot-wide sphere flew with the power and speed of a comet. It smashed into the top of the canyon wall, blowing it up on contact and turning the surround rock into molten slag.

Reloading another talisman, they prepared for the next volley.

"Fire!"

Slowly they were changing the very terrain as every fire blast would take chunks of the wall. The Red Team was forced to abandon their strategic position or risk being turned into a smoking crisp.

"Pull back," Shinjiro Nara shouted as he covered his head so that he wouldn't get hit by the falling debris. He gritted his teeth in anger, the only thing he wanted at the moment was revenge for what that little monster had done to his Tsubaki.

"Fire! Come on, aim damn it!"

"Vice-Captain, were still surrounded!"

"So what, that just means you can fire from any direction," Kenji shouted back, his heart pounding in his chest. When Kenji looked back at this moment, he would freely admit to having been caught up in the moment. "Fire!"

Slowly the canyon was being whittled away, until there were no longer any walls around them, just a giant smoking inclining plane that looked like a meteor crash sight. From every direction, they could see steaming and molten rock. The once clear sky had also turned dark from all of the dust and smoke in the air.

In the very middle of this man-made crater, was Squad D.

Kenji untangled the vine cocoon, with it falling neatly around them. The small boy stood proudly among his team, his bow gripped tightly in his hand. Deciding to make this a dramatic as possible for those that were observing them, he shouted to the high heavens, "We are Squad D! We fall to no one! And if we should die tonight-"

" **Then we should all die together!"** they all roared as one getting into running positions.

"Charge!" Kenji shouted with a large grin as he watched them kick off as one and charge toward the still confused and scattered enemy.

The only ones still in the center of the ring were Kenji, Akame, and Lin-Lin.

They were currently outnumbered 10 to 1. It would be a miracle if they managed to take them all down. Luckily for them, that wasn't the objective here, nope, it was to take out the four Captains.

As luck would have it, the Captains had deemed him the biggest threat and were currently heading towards his direction.

He took out the cat-gator's chakra crystal, a lightning type, and the water crystal from his ring.

Akame immerged from Lin-Lin's shadow, showing that she too was wearing armor. She wore a white padded vest that covered her back. Her feet had small, custom-made, silver bracers to protect her. She had a silver helmet with two small antler sprouting from it, holes cut out for her ears, and a white crystal rested right in the middle of the forehead. This armor was made using Koi-metal, upgraded chakra beast leather, and the wind crystal from the black bear.

 **White Jackalope Armor 14**

 **Quality: High-Human**

 **Defense: 700**

 **1250**

 **Gains Additional benefits dependent on the chakra element added to it.**

 **Can make a wind barrier around the user for a short time.**

 **10: Increases speed by 300%**

 **12: Reduce air friction by 50%**

 **14: Allows you to jump in the air and perform air dash.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 1650**

Kenji could feel the excitement rolling off her body.

"Hold your horses Akame. We need them to get closer to us remember," the small boy said as he took out Kaguya's Dog Mask. He was still nervous on putting it on but frankly he would need every advantage he could get.

Gulping he brought the mask closer to his face, his heart was unnaturally loud in his chest. Inch by inch it drew closer, and the twisting in his gut was getting worse.

The metal mask jumped on his face the second it felt contact surprising Kenji. "What the heck!?"

He scrambled to take it off, but the mask was determined to stay put. It steadily began to grow tighter around his face, causing him to yelp in pain. "Ah! What type of mask is this!?"

Kenji could feel something being pushed into his skin, as the mask was slowly fusing with him. With no other choice, he was forced to grit his teeth and endure this torturous experience, hoping that the pain would be over soon.

He nearly buckled when he felt a blinding head ache that dyed his vision a bloody crimson.

"AAARRRGGGG!" he shouted toward the sky as the mouth of the mask opened and showed two rows of white canine teeth.

The mask's wolf-like face shifted to mirror Kenji's expression almost as if were alive.

 _ **Bonding to Heaven-Tier Artifact Complete.**_

 **[New information found]**

 **[Upgrade System will be updated with the latest version.]**

 **[Auto-Restart will commence in 10 minutes.]**

He felt new information invade his mind, but as he looked around, he was stunned at what he saw? The entire world was filled with blinding colors. It was as if all his life he had been seeing everything in monochrome and was only just learning what colors were. He could see wisps of different colored smoke emerge from the surrounding land and get absorbed by the mask and the different artifacts he had created.

"… **Beautiful,"** he couldn't help but whisper under his breath, his voice sounding distorted and not entirely human. He looked towards Akame and Lin-Lin and saw how the colored smoke travel into them at a steady rate. **"Nature energy?"**

He didn't get much time to ask further questions as a group of thirty red shinobi surrounded him. Tsubaki's fiancé slammed into the ground a short distance away from him, rage burning in his eyes.

"… **Are you mad?"**

"Fire now!" Shinjiro shouted, spittle flying out of his mouth as he gave the order.

Immediately, Kenji was bombarded with different elemental jutsus coming from all directions.

Shinjiro did the same as the others as he performed the great fireball technique and sent the destructive flames straight toward the small boy.

Different jutsus mixed with each other throwing up dust and obscuring his form from view. However, they refused to let down their guard, not knowing what other tricks he would pull.

Shinjiro saw as the mysterious vines caught on fire, quickly forming a ring of fire around the boy.

Everyone cut off their jutsu to let the dust settle.

However, the second that they did, three blunted arrows flew from the cover of smoke and struck three ninjas right on their head, shattering the clay headband into smithereens.

Now that the smoke was thinning, they could see Kenji armed with a bow, completely untouched by their attacks. Dozens of Shield Talismans flying around protectively around him, forming a semi-transparent blue dome around him that was spinning rapidly, similar to the Hyuga's Revolving Heaven's technique.

 **(Conference Room)**

Slam!

A newly freed Hiashi slammed his hand on the table as he watched the scene through the hidden cameras around the battlefield. 'I knew it!'

 **(Scene Change)**

'Damn it, there goes 49 talismans I'll never get back. I better use them sparingly from now on,' he thought as the remaining talismans gathered and flew up his sleeves.

Kenji looked straight at Shinjiro, luminescent yellow lights shinning from the eye socket in the metallic mask, " **Our turn.** "

Lin-Lin stepped to the front, her blood lust washing over them as she was ingulfed in a fiery inferno obscuring her form for a second and then dispersing to show her true form. She stood at 6 feet tall from the ground to her head. Powerful coiled muscles could be seen on her body as she stood in a ready crouch. Her jade like eyes stared at them, as her mouth showed an impressive show of fangs.

Kenji leapt on her back as if she were an ordinary horse, using the binding beads around her neck as reins. Akame joined them as she hopped on the air, a small platform made of wind appearing under her for a split second.

Many of those looking at the trio were starting to rethink their options, but it was already too late, as they blurred into action.

Kenji choose to attack the closest enemy ninja, Lin-Lin covering the distance in a fraction of a second. Kenji swung and hit him with his bow as they ran past, shattering the plate in one clean hit.

Lin-Lin dodged to the side as two white guardian lions like herself tried to pounce on them. She swiped at them using her claws causing them to burst into ink.

Immediately, Kenji was put on guard as he only knew of one person with ink related jutsu. Scanning his surrounding, he saw a young boy wearing a hood and a mask drawing on a scroll, a horde of mice jumping off the page.

" **Roast them,"** he told the guardian lion under him.

Lin-Lin was more than happy to comply as she sucked in a huge breath of air and expelled a cone of fire from her mouth, exactly like a flame-thrower.

The mice were incinerated in an instant, with the cloaked individual jumping away.

Kenji however had seen this and had already sent a volley of arrows at the boy. The boy showed that he was only just starting his training as all of the arrows met their mark, with the last one hitting the mask and destroying the headband underneath.

Akame was likewise fighting her own group of enemies as she used her speed to escape their attacks, using the shadows created by the fire to travel undetected, and air hopping around them at blinding speeds before tackling them.

The small bunny sprinted in the air as a swarm of insects followed her. Doing a flip she puffed up her cheeks and sent a ball of compressed air chakra into it, momentarily dispersing it. Her speed with the armor was already high-chunnin making it almost impossible for those present to trap her.

She hoped into her own shadow and emerged behind an unsuspecting ninja and sent a ball of wind at their back, blasting them away.

Kenji saw fireballs head his way so he activated the water crystal and used one of the few water jutsus he knew.

" **Water Release: Wild Water Wave!** "

A large amount of water spilled forth from his mouth almost like a waterfall. They met in the middle, the water steaming as it fought the force of the fire technique.

Unable to keep it up, Kenji was forced to end his jutsu when his chakra levels were nearly empty.

 **Chakra: Genin**

 **Chakra Points: 43/ 3,160**

Lin-Lin jumped high into the air, ringlets of fire appearing under her feet as she stood on the air as easily as the ground. Taking this chance, the small boy drank five chakra elixirs in rapid secession and saw as his chakra was steadily climbing back up.

They dodged kunai with explosive tags, as Kenji shot arrow after arrow.

Unfortunately, now that they were aware of the bow's power, they were able to dodge most of his attacks successfully, even the tricky fire arrows.

Switching to the lightning crystal, he imbued his next arrow with it, turning it into a shining yellow that crackled with sparks. He let it fly towards and enemy and immediately noticed the difference in speed.

That however was not enough as the shinobi saw it coming and jumped out of the way. It was then that the arrow turned at a 90 degree angle and followed him, zig-zagging across the air like an angry serpent.

'So that's what the lightning arrows do. Neat,' the masked boy thought before he felt something fall on his head. Looking up, he saw that the sky had turned a dark grey and rain beginning to fall.

Taking a look at the surrounding area, Kenji saw as his team formed groups of three and fought clusters of enemy shinobi. They were beginning to tire as most of them were moving sluggishly.

'I better finish this quickly. I don't think they can handle much more of this,' he concluded as he hopped off of Lin-Lin and equipped his Umbrella sword.

A giant boulder was launched toward him, and just as it looked like it would connect Kenji cut it in half using the stored up chakra in the blade for a single attack that carved a deep gouge in the earth dozens of feet long. The explosive tags on the back of the boulder however, were another matter as he was launched backwards from the force.

Tiny stone shrapnel had managed to enter his exposed hands.

" **Damn, I was careless.** "

He saw a water bullet head his way, but when he tried to move, he found that he was unable to.

The water hit him directly in the head, snapping his head back from the impact, but causing no damage other than soaking his clothes.

Looking closely, he saw that his shadow was leading toward Shinjiro.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Rod!" Someone shouted from behind him, and Kenji yelped in pain as a bolt of lightning struck him right in the back. His wet clothes acting as perfect conductors as the lightning traveled through his body electrocuting him.

Smoke rose from his body as he fell down to his knees, Shinjiro was breathing hard but refused to let release his jutsu.

Lin-Lin was being attacked from all sides, stopping her from helping him. Akame was also in a similar predicament as she was being chased down by some Inzuka clansmen and a swarm of chakra draining insects.

Using chakra, Kenji called up all of the remain Shield Talismans to protect him.

Being wiser, they took turns throwing a single kunai at the barrier and waited for it to disperse before attacking again.

Slowly they took down each of his shields until he was left with only one.

"I'm going to enjoy this," Shinjiro said as he threw a kunai at the mask's eye socket, the talisman activating automatically to block it then fading away.

" **Hold on, wait!** "

"It's too late for that! You took her from me! I'll make you pay for that," Riku shouted as he walked closer to the still immobile child.

" **But she's not gone,** " Kenji shouted to the enraged man.

"Don't lie to me, I saw you turn her into glass," the tall youth angry replied as he picked up Kenji by the scruff of his kimono and pulling his fist back to punch him.

However, at the very last moment Kenji chose to call forth Tsubaki's glass sculpture in front of him causing Shinjiro to stop in his tracks.

"If you want to return her to normal, just remove the talisman from her back," Kenji suggested.

Shinjiro dropped him in favor of reaching out to his beloved fiancé, gently caressing her face with his fingers. She looked the same as the last time he saw her, the frightened expression on her face was heartbreaking. The fight in him was momentarily lost as he felt tears in his eyes.

Looking at her back, he saw a leaf of paper on her back, and without hesitation he ripped it off.

The second that he did, the glass sculpture glowed white and she was returned to normal.

"T-Tsubaki, y-you're back," he said in a scared voice, almost as if he was afraid that she would disappear again.

Tsubaki looked shocked as she stared at her hands, "I'm back?"

"You're back!" Shinjiro shouted in joy as he grabbed her by the waist and twirled her around happily, getting excited squeals from her.

All those from the Red Team looked at this heartwarming scene with understanding, knowing just how devastated Shinjiro had been when he thought that she had died.

Slowing down, the two stared into each other's eyes, neither one wanting to break contact first. Tsubaki placed her hands on his shoulders as she drew her face closer to him. Shinjiro likewise brought his face closer to hers.

Just as they were an inch away from locking lips, Tsubaki's grip got tighter and she pulled her head back only to smash it with extreme force into his forehead protector a second later. The clay plate stood no chance as it cracked into pieces.

"T-Tsubaki, Wh-why?"

"For a Nara, you sure are dumb," the bespectacled blonde said with a sly grin before she was covered in smoke and the image of Kenji replaced her. He boop-ed his nose with a finger before crumbling into dirt, showing that it had just been an earth clone.

A red firework was shot into the sky, showing the elimination of a Captain from the Red Team.

When they looked toward Kenji, they noticed that he was gone.

 **(Scene change)**

"Ha. Ha. Ha-urk!"

Kenji limbed his way behind a large upturned rock, using the umbrella as a cane until he had full control of his legs again. He had already taken a Red Potion but it was taking longer to heal his nerves right.

"Th-that was close. Good thing I prepared that double just in case," he said as he slumped against a large upturned rock. "How much time do I have left."

 **Auto-Restart in: 03:43**

'I really hope those guys pass this test, they deserve it,' the small merchant thought to himself.

A kunai with a burning explosive tag landed next to him. Calmly he opened the umbrella and used it to protect him from the blast. The land around him had been gouged out, but he was left unharmed.

"Might as well finish with a bang," Kenji thought as he took out his bow and a couple of chakra replenishing potions.

He held the elegant white bow steadily in his hands. He activated another of its special ability and watched as it transformed into a curved bow that looked like two angel wings. The string was replaced by one made of chakra, and a blue transparent arrow appeared already loaded.

He shot the first arrow into the sky, using only 15 chakra points to make it. When it was at the apex of its height it exploded.

Akira used the arm guards to block the earth jutsu aimed at him and kicked away another shinobi but turned when he saw the blue flare. "That's the signal! Everyone regroup!" he shouted as he began to make his way toward the origin of the arrow.

Kenji shot more arrows into the sky, looking like a water fountain, as he was shooting dozens of blue projectiles by the second. These arrows however did not fall to the ground right away, as they righted themselves in the air and shot of towards different directions. Kenji tried to control them to the best of his abilities using his perfect chakra control to aim them at the enemy, but the shear number of them cost meant that they lacked accuracy.

Under the hail of arrows Squad D was able to make it to him.

" **How the heck are all of you still here?** "Kenji said with a frown as he noticed that all 19 members of his Squad were accounted for. Sure, they were battered with bruises and cuts but remarkably their headbands were still intact. Most had opted to sacrifice their bodies rather than have their headbands destroyed. " **Whatever, you over there, come here?** " he said as he pointed to a random ninja.

When they got close however, Kenji thrust a chakra palm strike into their stomach knocking them backwards.

Everyone looked shocked, but Kenji went on like nothing happened, **"Okay, now we are all here."**

The teenager wobblily got up coughing but he stood up looking apologetic, "Sorry Vice-Captain, the Yamanka came out of nowhere I swear."

" **It's fine, they can be tricky, are you okay?"**

"Yeah, just a bruised ego… and maybe a stomach."

"I hope you all did your best to stand out. Unfortunately, we can't keep fighting much longer, most of you look ready to fall apart. Hopefully this was enough to make all of us pass but now it is time to end this. If this was real war, then I would suggest we go out in a burning ball of glory! … but since we aren't lets just surrender," he said getting a chuckle from them. "It was good working with you guys, hopefully we can work together in the future."

"Yes, Vice-Captain!" they shouted, unable to believe the genuine amount of respect they felt toward the minuscule boy.

A flash of lighting illuminated the battleground, showing that they were surround on all sides by at least 100 enemy shinobi with nothing to use as cover

"Well I guess I better end this, before they start throwing more fireballs at us huh?" Kenji said as he stood up on top of the large boulder, "Listen we sur-"

 **[Auto-Restart: 00:00]**

 **(Scene Change)**

Kaguya stared calmly as Kenji's body appeared face down on the water's surface.

She could already feel the change in him. The chakra in his body felt cleaner as it had been purged of the God Tree's influence.

Standing up she floated toward him and gently picked him up like a newborn babe. She felt the ends of her lips rise up slightly as she gazed down at him.

Kenji was in a deep unconscious state, as his ability began to rework itself.

With slow measured steps, she reached her throne, and laid his sleeping form on it. The large seat making him look even smaller than usual.

She brushed a brown lock of hair behind his ear, 'Who knew that I would meet someone that reminds me so strongly of Aino after all this time. Perhaps this time…'

She let that train of thought go as she stood up. Flexing her power, the room began to tremble, but luckily it did not look like it would collapse. This was all thanks to the modifications she had made on Kenji's body, making it better able to handle her power.

As a side effect, Kaguya could feel the chains placed on her by her sons loosen just a fraction of a degree.

"You shall be my salvation Kenji, even if you don't know it yet?" Kaguya said as she brushed his hair in an affectionate manner.

From the contact, she was able to glimpse into his true feelings.

She could see that despite how hard he tried to hide it, Kenji felt frustrate that he could not win. He felt anger at himself for being unable to help his team any further. There was also the bitter feeling in his heart that said he could have done better.

"It looks like I will have to intervene this time. I can not let my General taste defeat in his first battle after all," she declared as her body began to glow a blinding white before it broke into tiny orbs of light that traveled up toward the ceiling.

 **(Scene Change)**

Squad D felt worried as the little Vice-Captain had stopped all of a sudden, almost as if he had been frozen.

It was then that they felt it.

A strange heartbeat.

They didn't hear it so much as sensed it. A long-forgotten instinct in their brain screamed at them to run away. Their chakra flowing in their body also began to act strange, as it traveled faster in their chakra pathways almost excitedly.

"V-Vice-Captain? Vice-Captain are you okay? Kenji can you hear me?" Yuuto said cautiously as he neared the boy. He didn't know what was happening to the boy to make him go quite, but he could feel the massive amount of nature energy being drawn to him almost like a black hole. If this went on any longer, then he would be forced to drop his disguise in order to save the boy.

Suddenly Kenji snapped his face in his direction, the wolf mask unsettling him further.

"Kenji is that you?"

"… _ **No**_ a monotone sounding voice said, before turning to face all the enemy.

Kaguya inspected her temporary body, clenching her fist experimentally. The mask served its purpose as it transferred all of the chakra techniques it had recorded into her mind.

The battleground was eerie reminiscent of the night when she had eaten the chakra fruit. Surrounded by the enemy from all sides with allies being pinned down.

She frowned as she was remembered of this.

Kaguya didn't have much time before she needed to return the body. The amount of chakra available also wasn't nearly enough for most of her powers.

At an unspoken signal the Red Team took this chance to commence their attack, throwing anything available at the group who were sitting ducks.

Kaguya wasn't worried however as she mentally went through Kenji's jutsu library to find the ideal technique to finish this battle.

Just as it looked like the attacks would hit them, large tree roots sprouted from the ground and blocked them, and unlike the vine cocoon, this was indeed wood release at work.

Yuuto had felt the shift in chakra when the wooden roots had grown so he knew for a fact that it was Kenji's doing.

Another flash of lightning and Kaguya got an idea. Looking further into his mind, Kaguya found the jutsu she was looking for, or rather the theory behind one.

She took out the lightning crystal from the pouch strapped to Kenji's leg and fed it a large amount of chakra, then pointed it up into the sky and shot off her own lightning bolt. She also mentally looked into the ring's inventory and decided to 'liberate' several barrel worth's of chakra dust from Kenji, making a mental note to compensate him later.

The feeling of exhaustion that hit her after was a new experience, but she grinned anyways. It felt so good to finally be free after a millennium of confinement.

Using her control over the lightning chakra in the sky, Kaguya gathered all of the natural lightning in the thunder clouds and began to split it over and over again then shapped it to fit her desired shape.

All of those watching were confused by Kenji's attack but that quickly turned into horrify realization when they saw it.

From the cover of clouds, hundreds of swords made out of lightning were floating in the sky above them.

" **Fall."**

At her command, they all fell down one by one looking like a meteor shower.

Those that looked back on this day would describe it as having the very heavens dropped on their heads.

No one was quick enough to escape as the earth was transformed in the blink of an eye.

The canyon terrain had been turned into a wasteland.

Kaguya had expertly controlled the trajectory of the lightning swords so they wouldn't hit anyone directly. Instead she had aimed her attacks at the puddles of water that were scattered everywhere. She had also been sure to divide the amount of lightning among the hundreds of swords so that when they hit, it would not be enough to kill someone instantly. Her eyes told her that no one had died, but many were injured.

Three Red Fireworks were sent into the sky showing that the last remaining Captains had been defeated. With that the end of the mock-war had official ended.

Kaguya gave a mental grin at her good deed she had done for her new servant, and relinquished control of Kenji's body.

Everyone from Squad D looked beyond shocked as they stared open mouthed at the scenery, some would need a quick change of underwear. Their little, adorable, rosy-cheeked Vice-Captain had single handedly defeated more than 100 shinobi by himself.

Now that no one was controlling his body, Kenji fell off the rock in a boneless heap. Yuuto reacted the fastest as he caught Kenji in his arms.

"Hey Kenji, are you okay!? Kenji! Wake up," he said trying to take the mask off him but didn't find an edge.

There was no need however as the mask split down the middle and fell to the ground where it crumbled into iron sand.

Yuuto gasped as he looked at Kenji face, "…Byakugan."

Everyone that had huddled around him also gasped.

"Oh no wait, his eyes are just rolled back," Yuuto amended when he took a closer look.

Someone nearby slapped him the back of the head for that.

Still, Yuuto was startled to find that a purple crescent moon now reset in the middle of the young boy's forehead. He also sported two magenta strips on both cheeks looking eerily similar to those of Tobirama Senju. His eyelids also gained a magenta line. However, they were slowly fading as the nature chakra in his body was leaving him.

'That was definitely sage mode alright. But how did he learn it?' the black-haired man thought.

Kenji began to stir as he winced in pain.

"Look, he's starting to wake up."

The first thing that Kenji saw was Yuuto face, then the entirely of Squad D looking down at him in concern.

"…Please tell me no one kissed me," he muttered half seriously.

They all laughed unable to believe the unlikeliness of this situation.

Now that all of the lightning had been used up, the sky was beginning to clear, and the first rays of sunshine were starting to pierce through the clouds.

"We won!"

"We won?" Kenji said confused, unable to remember what had happened.

"Three cheers for the Vice-Captain," someone said as they hoisted Kenji on their shoulders.

"Hip-Hip- Hooray!"

"Hey watch it, I'm tender," the small boy yelped as he was thrown high into the air.

"Hip-Hip-Hooray!"

"Ah screw it, yay me!" he said with a megawatt smile.

"Hip-Hip-"

 **(Break)**

"Hooray." Kenji muttered miserably.

Slam!

The steel door slammed shut in his face. He was in some type of underground waiting cell, with two Anbu guards standing just outside the door.

However, despite it being a waiting cell, it was lavishly decorated, looking like it was made for a convicted noble.

Kenji banged on the steel door, "Hey! Let me out! I'm innocent I tell you!"

He heard one of the guards snort.

"Right kid. You've made quite the mess out there. Not sure what you were thinking using such a destructive jutsu on the other participants, but it doesn't matter. Just sit tight, the Hokage will want to have some words with you soon, so I suggest you come up with a good explanation."

Sliding down the door Kenji had a baffled look, "…but I don't even know what happened?"

 **A/N: Done. Thanks for reading (:**

 **So let me go down the list and clarify a couple of things.**

 **First of all to those that were concerned with Kenji joining Akatsuki, I'll tell you now that he won't ever do that. That's a dick move in my opinion. They are a band of terrorist and criminals after all and while their goals are the same (Fourth Shinobi War) that doesn't mean Kenji will get along with them. He is more or less going to be the supplier for the Shinobi Alliance and use his power to strengthen not just the shinobi but the entire world, turning it almost like wuxia setting. Plus he could always disguise himself or fake his own death if he is ever found out.**

 **Second of all, I'll clearly say that Kaguya Possessing Kenji was a one-time deal … maybe two time if the story sticks to my original plotline. Either way, I just want to clarify that although Kenji might seem strong, that's because he is up against academy and genin level ninjas, and even then they were giving him a hard time.**

 **He might have a bunch of never before seen tricks, but shinobi are smart, so if they see an attack a certain number of times then they will start to form countermeasures.**

 **Hope you guys liked the Dragon Talisman, originally I was going to have Kenji make an improvised bazooka that shot talisman in rapid fire like a machine gun, but I thought this would fit better.**

 **I also hope you enjoyed how I used some old elements from past chapter for the battle, I know I like it when authors do that.**

 **The dog/wolf mask wasn't destroyed by the way. All Heaven-tier artifacts bond with the user so know Kenji can call it out when ever he wants. …Also, Kaguya can use this to learn all of the techniques that Kenji sees. Don't expect the final battle to go like in cannon, there might even be a three-way battle between Team 7, Madara, and Kaguya if I feel it will fit the story.**

 **To those of you who were waiting for this moment… Yes! Kenji has official passed the first step in cultivating. Now that he has purge himself of the God Tree's toxic influence, he will be able to accumulate nature energy in his body.**

 **And Finally, I'm still thinking up of new artifacts so if you have an idea please write it in the comments. I've already chosen some of them and you will see then in these next chapters.**

 **Until next time.**


	16. The Deal

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references mentioned in this fanfic.**

 **A/N: Right, I would first like to start by writing a few words.**

 **I want to say thank you to everyone who has complemented my writing. It means so much to me when this happens because it means that I'm really improved since I first started writing fanfiction.**

 **The entire reason why I began to write on this website was so that I could sharpen my skills. It's always been my dream to someday write a book and I feel that with every chapter I write I am steadily getting closer to my goal. One day I know I will achieve my dream.**

 **Again thank you!**

 **As a treat, I extended this chapter. Hope you enjoy (:**

 **Chapter 16**

 _Day 17_

 _It has been over two weeks since I was unjustly imprisoned._

 _My only confident has been the moon, but as I stare out of the window on this night, I cannot help but notice her absence. And that hurts more than any other betrayal._

 _Where have you gone my white lunar goddess? Have you too forsaken me?_

 _It has been days since any sort of sustenance has passed through these lips, and my mouth has become as dry as the Mora Desert._

 _My body aches from their interrogation. They might break my body but my spirit will remain unbending._

Knock Knock

"Oi, that chair you asked for is here," someone from the other side of the iron door said, interrupting Kenji's train of thought.

"Aw man," the small boy whined as he noticed the long line of ink that he had accidentally made on the paper.

He was sitting in a lavish chair and using the desk provided to write a new novel. His time in this cell had given him plenty of free time, and he was determined to be productive.

The door opened and a masked Anbu stepped inside pushing a plush swivel chair.

"Oooh, that's very nice," Kenji said as he gently caressed the black leather seat. He turned to the Anbu, "Thank you Snake-san."

Snake inclined his head slightly, "Dinner will be served momentarily."

"What's on the menu today?" he asked as he planted his behind on the luxurious chair.

"Lobster," was all Snake said as he walked out of the room.

Kenji spun on his new chair.

'It's not so bad,' he thought about his home for the past two weeks, 'Sure I missed the deadline to buy that farm land but at least most of my stress is gone now.'

That was partially true. The day of the deadline Kenji had raged all around the room. It got so bad that a whole squad of Anbu had to be called in to hold him down before he hurt someone or himself. They had pumped him full of tranquilizers just to calm him down. When he woke up, he found that all of the broken furniture had been replaced. After that, he had gone through the five stages of grief. Now he was as cool as a cucumber.

While he was technically a prisoner, he was one in the loosest of terms.

He received regular meals everyday that looked like they came from 5-star restaurants. He was given a steady supply of materials, like paper and ink. They would regularly bring books of his choice to help pass the time. He could ask for practically anything and they would bring it here. The only thing he couldn't do was leave, not like had much reason to.

It was sad that he was living better in this cell than when he was free. Nobles really were on a separate class if this what they considered prison.

The only down side was that he couldn't use his artifacts. They had searched him for any before they put him in here, but to their surprise he had none on his body, even his spatial ring was missing. He had given all of his belongings to Akame as soon as they had asked him to follow them after the test had ended.

Lin-Lin was currently hiding out somewhere in the village along with all of the other Chakra Beasts that had been in his room.

Akame had chosen to keep him company during his stay, as she had rarely left his shadow, except for the few times when she had to check up on Lin-Lin and the others to make sure they weren't causing trouble. Although to be perfectly honest, he suspected that she was only there for the food.

As mentioned, this had given him plenty of time to himself. So, he chose to spend it on productive things. Fore example other than writing, he had spent most of his time practicing his taijutsu and ways to use yang chakra.

From what he had discovered yang chakra could do a number of things as long as there was a physical body to store it. Example, he could make objects fly if he injected them with enough chakra and then controlled the chakra inside it. As long as he gave an object plenty of yang chakra, he could control it as if it were alive. They couldn't move on their own or do basic task like an actual being though. It was similar to Suna's puppet technique in that regard, only there was no need for chakra strings.

However, it had to be inside something to work, since Yang chakra quickly dispersed if it was outside a container. As the physical side of chakra, it needed something solid to work with.

He suspected that yin Chakra was the opposite, and with it, someone could create complete chakra constructions like weapons or shields similar to a Susanoo.

Sitting on his chair, Kenji sent a pulse of yang chakra throughout the room bathing everything in his unique chakra. A pen and a piece of paper flew from his desktop and toward his hand. All around the room were a number of lightweight objects that were also floating off the ground. His control was still rough, but he was making strides, now he could control things that weighed less than 2 pounds.

Of course, not everything was good. He rubbed his eyes to relieve some of the strain they felt. Ever since he put on that mask, his vision had become odd.

His sight had been improved bound normal human, with him now being able to count the individual threads on his pillow case all the way from across the room as a small example. However, what was more surprising was the fact that he didn't lose the ability to see nature energy. In fact, he had to consciously hold back this ability otherwise his vision would be obscured from all of the colorful smoke coming off of things. Closing his eyes helped a bit, but he was always conscious of the things around him. He had briefly wondered if this was what the Hyuga's felt when they activated their dojutsu.

Speaking about nature chakra, he had found out that he could draw it into himself just like a sage. When he did this though, he noticed that a purple crescent moon would appear on his forehead, along with two red lines would appear on his cheek and a red line on his eyelids. The only thing he was missing was white hair and he would look just like a certain character from an Anime back in Adult Kenji's world. That thought alone was scary since this meant that Kaguya had been able to access more of his memories without him knowing about it.

Oh yes how could he forget the entire reason he was here.

Apparently, she had taken over his body when the upgrade system was being updated.

They had shown him the video footage of him calling down hundreds of lightning swords from the sky. Apparently using an untested S-rank jutsu on his fellow teammates was enough to land him in prison, who knew. They had questioned him the first couple of days trying to get the full story and Kenji was forced to answer all of their questions. However, when they asked him on certain topics he only told half truths since he was sure that the Yamanaka assigned to him was able to tell when he was lying. Why they didn't just enter his mind, he wasn't sure but he wasn't one to complain.

He had been unable to contact her since then. The throne room was still there, but she wasn't. He was curious to know what was keeping her so busy that she didn't have time to answer some of his questions.

The Anbu on the first day had said that the Hokage was going to talk to him but it had already been more than two weeks and he had yet to show himself.

It seemed that he was left forgotten.

"Lunch is here," Snake said as he opened the door and pushed a metal serving tray into the room. He took a giant plate and removed the lid revealing a steam red lobster cooked to perfection.

'On second thought, they can forget about me for a bit longer.'

 **(Hokage Tower)**

Hiruzen head slammed against his desk, the sudden impact jolted him awake as he stood ramrod in his seat.

He gave a large yawn as he rubbed his tired eyes. They were blood shot and the bags under them were nothing to laugh about. He had not had a good nights rest since the end of the genin exams.

But that was to be expected, never in the history of the village had there ever been a genin test like that one. Sure they were used to the occasional collateral damage, maybe an excess of environmental destruction and such, but what they weren't prepared for was for a 10 year old academy student to literal change the landscape of the land in a single attack.

The lightning storm had been visible all the way from the village, and many had actually thought that they were under attack. It had caused village wide panic for many minutes until they could get back control.

The only silver lining was that no one had actually died. They were however injured and needed to be transferred to the hospital with great care.

He had been stuck in his office ever since, trying his best to cover up the events of this incident as best he could, but it was an uphill battle. There had been about 200 genin-hopefuls in that battle and all of them had been a witness to Kenji's lightning attack and worse, his wood style technique. It didn't take very much for someone to put the pieces together.

They absolutely couldn't let this information reach the wrong hands. While the appearance of a Senju who could use wood release would no doubt be seen as a boon to the village, especially after the Kyuubi attack and the loss of the Fourth Hokage, it couldn't be further than the truth.

In the eyes of their enemies he was a grave threat that needed to be eliminated before he had a chance to grow, and that was only with him being a Senju. If they were ever to find the full extent of Kenji's abilities, then they would be knocking on their doorstep within a month.

He would be lying if he said he didn't feel a sudden rush of excitement at knowing that there was finally a Senju in the village. The village desperately needed a beacon of hope, and what better than someone that shared the same blood as one of the founders of the village.

He had already issued a law that prohibited anyone from talking about the events of this Genin exam, it wouldn't stop any leaks, but it should at least stem part of the problem until they could find a better solution.

Knock. Knock.

Taking his eyes of the pile of paper work, Hiruzen called out, "Enter."

The door was opened and two of his old friends sluggishly walked inside, closing the door behind them. They looked as tired as him, with dark bags under their eyes from sleepless nights.

"Hiruzen," they said as one as they gently lowered themselves on the couch in his office.

"Homura. Koharu-"

"It's no use Hiruzen. We can't stall her any longer. Madam Shijimi demands that we let her see Kenji today," the aged kunoichi interrupted him.

Like the Third, the two councilors had been working around the clock trying to do damage control. Many of the Nobles from the Capital had become unbearable to deal with, asking needless questions and such. The Daimyo and his wife had asked to meet with Kenji a number of times, but Homura and Koharu had been able to deter them thus far using different excuses.

"What is to be done with the boy," Homura asked as he rubbed his tired eyes and adjusted his glasses. "It's been more than two weeks. We can't just keep him in that cell."

"Don't fear old friend I have a plan for that. Jiraiya get your ass in here!" the Hokage ordered and Jiraiya appeared in a plume of smoke in the center of the room.

"Hey sensei, you're not still mad about the Exam are you," the Toad Sannin said from a safe distance.

The pen in Hiruzen's had snapped like a twig when the exam was mentioned. "Sit your ass down Jiraiya. We were just discussing what we will do about Kenji Yamamoto."

The white-haired pervert knew he was already on thin ice so he did as he was told without much complaint. "So what do you have planned for the little guy?"

"First we must discuss about the events of the battle. We cannot simple ignore the fact that he used an S-rank jutsu on many of his fellow recruits. It is miracle in itself that no one actually died," the Hokage stated as he took out his pipe from the pocket in his robes.

It was Jiraiya's turn to chime in, "I've been meaning to discuss that by the way. The kid definitely used senjutsu in that fight. I was standing right next to him when he launched that bolt of lightning into the sky as well as make those wooden tree roots that protected him. However there was something strange about it."

"Strange how?" Homura asked.

"First of all, there was no indication that he was going to attack. He clearly intended to surrender but then he froze all of a sudden. I might not be the best sensor in the village but even I felt a shift in his chakra presence. Only thing is that it didn't feel like him anymore. It almost felt like when a Yamanaka bodys someone," the Toad Sage said with a serious expression.

Koharu released a tired breath, "This could be bad. How certain are you about this Jiraiya?"

"There's more though. The mask that crumbled into metal sand, I took it to Fukasaku. He said that the mask was a receiver of some sort, and it had a strange chakra signature, different from the artifacts that Kenji had previously made. Do you know if he made it or if someone gave it to him?" Jiraiya aimed the question at his sensei that was looking though a file.

The Hokage scanned though the testimonies that the Anbu had taken from the boy. "He has been very forthcoming thankfully. One of the few questions he asked was about the whereabout of his mask. When they questioned him on the importance of the mask, all he said was that it was a gift from someone."

"All of this is starting to feel a little fishy. The timing is all to perfect. I have no doubt in my mind that someone was controlling him," Jiraiya threw in his two cents as he leaned back on his chair.

"I'm starting to get a migraine just thinking about it," Hiruzen said as he rubbed his temples, "Anything else you can tell us."

Jiraiya's face went serious as he unsummoned a scroll and handed it to the Hokage.

Seeing the expression that his former student was making, Hiruzen almost didn't want to open it for fear it would make his migraine worse. Still he needed to know.

As he read the contents of the scroll, he felt his insides go cold.

"What does the scroll say Hiruzen," Koharu asked.

Jiraiya answered instead, "My spy network has reported appearances of animals with strange powers all over the Land of Fire. More and more of these chakra beasts are starting to appear. It's not just here either, some of my informants in other countries have reported the same thing."

"Could there be a correlation between this and Kenji Yamamoto. As we already know, he is suspected of being the person responsible for creating these abominations," the old woman asked.

Jiraiya shook his head, "I don't know for certain yet. What I do know is that the first reported case was two weeks ago."

Nothing more was needed to be said as all of them got the implications.

"This is turning into a disaster isn't it," Homura said while closing his eyes in thought.

"If Jiraiya's theory is true, then that means that there is someone out there that not only knew of Kenji's ability but also created a situation where he could momentarily take over the boy and use him for some unknown purpose. This is truly troubling," Koharu summed up perfectly.

Jiraiya turned to the Third just as he finished the list of reports, "What of his pets? The chakra beasts he was able to tame. Have you found any trace of them yet?

"None. Our best trackers have been unable to find neither hide nor hair of them. They disappeared as soon as Kenji was taken into custody. Another curious thing is that when they patted him down, they were unable to find any of his equipment. Likewise, his room had been cleared out by the time that Anbu could arrive," Hiruzen couldn't help but be impressed.

"Really. That kid is something else. He has so much raw talent that it's unnatural. It's like every Senju of the past is on his shoulder guiding him."

"Kami I hope not. I owed quite a few of them some money," Hiruzen muttered.

"My point is that Kenji could be a great asset to this village. Currently he knows the most about these chakra beasts and he has the capability of taming them, if the rabbit and weird dog-lion is anything to go on. Not to mention his weird ability to imbue items with nature chakra."

"What do you mean. I thought he only became a sage recently?"

"Well yes, he might have only recently achieved Sage Mode, but from what Fukasuka tells me, the artifacts he creates utilize a strange form of nature chakra. Even he's not sure to tell the truth. The kid has been using nature chakra all this time without knowing it. It's not fair! It took me years to learn Sage mode! Years I tell you! And when I do use it, I turn into a toad person! And now this kid comes along and does it in less than a day, and all he gets is some cute face paint! Some people have all the luck," Jiraiya ranted as he began to pace around the room in circles.

The elders rolled their eyes at his childness.

"Despite that last part, Jiraiya does bring a good point Hiruzen. Kenji Yamamoto could be an invaluable piece if he was guided correctly," the only female in the room said rationally.

Hamura nodded as well, "She's right. With careful guidance he could be one of the best shinobi in the village. He has remarkable healing ability as seen when he regrew his arm, something that not even Tsunade could do without unleashing her Yin Seal. Not to mention the boost in missions when people find out that the Leaf Village finally has a Mokoton user. Costumers from all over the nation would come just to catch a glimpse of him."

Slumping back in his chair Jiraiya warned them, "I'd be careful of underestimating him. Despite his goofy nature, a skilled tactician is just under the surface waiting for you to make a mistake. I read some of those notes in his novels, the battle depicted in them were well thought out and showed great insight in strategic and military tactics. Not to mention that he we haven't even seen all that he could do yet. I could tell that he took great care to hold back when he was facing against others. Sure he would break bones and other injuries but he never used moves that would prove to be fatal to his opponents. The only reason why we learned of his healing ability was because he was taken off guard with that cat-gator creature," Jiraiya had the decency to look guilty when he said this, "if it weren't for that, I doubt we would have seen it at all. He only showed what he wanted us to see."

Jiraiya stood up from his seat and walked toward the open window. He took out the telescope artifact and began to adjust the dials on the side until he was able to see the woman's bath. "The kid is powerful in his own right. I doubt there is anyone in his generation that could match him right now, including the clan heirs. He is strong, fast, smart, and more over tricky. He doesn't let emotions rule him either. When he found out that his friend was a traitor, he didn't get sad or angry like most, instead he devised a plan to counter her. And despite his willingness to listen to orders I can tell that he won't allow himself to just be led around blindly."

Hiruzen exhaled a large puff of smoke before turning to his pupil who was giggling perversely, "You know that Kenji will demand you return him that telescope, right?"

The Toad Sannin looked scandalously as he clutched the telescope closer to his chest, "No way in hell am I returning it, he'll have to rip it out of my cold dead hands before I let that happen."

"From what others have told me, that sounds exactly like something he would do."

"So what's your decision Hiruzen? How do you plan to deal with him?" Koharu asked.

Stretching his back to relieve some of those ache the Hokage smiled, "I think I have given him enough time."

"Enough time?"

"If he is truly as smart as everyone think he is, then no doubt he used this time to think of various ways to appeal to us in order to stay out of prison. Cat, I want you to take this note to the Anbu ordered to watch over Kenji. Then I want you to personally escort him to the designated spot," he ordered as he handed the note to Cat, who appeared at his side.

"It's just as you described Jiraiya, Kenji should not be handled with the mentality of wanting to control him. Instead we will appeal to his greed and reach a compromise that will satisfy all parties. Madam Shijimi is no doubt waiting for the chance to drag him to the Capital, something we can't allow. Right now, we need something to permanently tie him to the village."

"Do you have something prepared?"

The Third nodded as he took out a folder from his desk. They contained the documents that would decide everything.

All three stood up from their positions and crowded around his desk, reading the papers.

"This is-"

"That might work."

"Wait. So you kept Kenji in that cell all this time because you were waiting for him to find the solution to his own problem. I don't know if I should call that devious or just plain lazy."

They reviewed the information in the packet, thinking of the best way to use it to their advantage.

Cat appeared back in the room a few minutes later, "Hokage-sama, Kenji Yamamoto has been brought to the appointed destination as ordered."

"Well done Cat. It's time to be off," the Third said as he stood up from his seat and out of the room followed by his two advisors. "Are you coming Jiraiya?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'll be up in a second," the self-proclaimed super pervert stated as he went back to using the telescope.

 **(Scene change)**

Kenji sat calmly in his seat, drumming his fingers against the white round table in front of him.

He was currently on top of the Hokage Tower. A squad of 4 shinobi guards stood vigilant along the perimeter of the area looking inward. He was sure that there were more hidden around the area, just waiting for him to make a mistake.

His slim and beautiful appearance looked especial elegant as a soft breeze fluttered his robes and lifted his brown hair behind him. The only thing out of place was the white bandages over his eyes. However, they were there at his own request, rather than it being a precaution by the shinobi.

'The world is too bright now. I was not expecting to almost be blinded the second I got out of the cell,' the small boy thought about how he had been overwhelmed by all of the colors coming out of his surroundings.

However even after closing his eyes and covering them with a blindfold, Kenji could still see. Everything was just a different shade of grey, black, or white. It looked like one of those old time black and white movies. His range wasn't that long, only thirty feet in radius.

Before he left his cozy cell, they had patted him down for any would be weapons and had given him a new set of clothes. Kenji would be lying if he said he didn't feel flattered by all the precautions.

His ears twitched when he heard the steps of people coming up the staircase.

When they entered his range, Kenji could finally tell who they were. It was the Third Hokage followed by his trusted advisors.

Kenji stood up from his seat and turned to face them, feeling as the shinobi around him tensed. He gave them a bow of respect and smiled, "Greetings Hokage-sama and Councilors Utatane and Mitokado. It is an honor to finally meet you?"

Hiruzen returned the smile as best he could, "Kenji Yamamoto, I've been meaning to have a talk with you. I apologize for not get to it until now. I hope that you have been treat well."

"Yes sir, it has given me much time to think."

"That's good to hear, we have much to discuss," the Hokage said as he gestured for everyone to sit around the table. "Cat. I don't believe I asked for Kenji here to be blindfolded, is there a reason why he is?"

A person appeared next to him in a submissive crouch. Kenji recognized this person as the Anbu always tailing him. If he remembered correctly, she was Yugao Uzuki.

"He asked to be blindfolded Hokage-sama. He stated that his eyes were hurting," she reported diligently.

Hiruzen waved her off and she disappeared out of Kenji's range.

"Is there something wrong with your eyes Kenji-kun," the Third said in a worried manner, wondering if this would be a problem.

Kenji gave him a smile as he shook his head, "No, no, Hokage-sama. It's just eye strain, from reading too many books. I was not prepared for the sun to be so bright today is all."

"It is good to hear that it is nothing. Now then why don't we get to the root of the matter. I take it you understand why we are here," the Third said trying to gauge how much he knew.

Kenji felt a shift in their emotions and it took him a second to understand what they were. With a mental grin he answered, "You are to decide what to do with me. I apparently used a jutsu during the final test that was deemed too dangerous. The rule against the use of lethal force against fellow Leaf Ninja was therefore broken. Normally this would be a clear and cut case, but the fact that I have yet to be transferred into a public prison leads me to believe that you have yet to pass judgment for whatever reason. Is that close enough?"

Hiruzen felt reassured in his assessment of the boy. "You are right on all accounts, Kenji-kun. Then can you guess as to why you were brought here."

The boy swung his legs back and forth under the table as he feigned deep thinking, trying to buy time so that he could get a better understanding of their emotions. This wouldn't be a problem if he was touching them, but he was trying to do it at a distance which was harder than it would appear.

"You wan- no. You need something from me. Hmm… could it- no that doesn't make sense. Then what about… no. Perhaps? Naw. I'm sorry to say that I don't know what it is you want from me Hokage-sama," he said with a shrug and carefree smile.

Seeing as his plan had been seen, Hiruzen gave a chuckle. This was starting to become interesting.

Hamura let out an exhausted yawn at his moment.

"Hmm? You all seem to be tired. They say it is not good to overwork the body. I find a good cup of tea can help calm the mind and relieve fatigue," the small boy said, ready to show his hidden card.

Koharu thought some tea would be great right at the moment, "Yes, I'll call someone to prepare some immediately."

"Not to worry Councilor Utatane, it just so happens I brought my own," the little merchant exclaimed as he reached into the depths of his sleeves and took out a tea pot.

The shinobi around them became alert. They had checked him for all hidden objects, so the chances of him being able to sneak a tea pot should have been impossible.

The Hokage and the Councilors however took this for what it was, a show of power. Kenji was basically saying that despite being watched carefully by their best agents, he was able to sneak something like that to this meeting. He demonstrated that just because he was willing to listen to them, it didn't mean they could truly hold him even if they wanted to.

Now it was their turn to respond.

'He's very sly I'll give him that. It would be best to not treat him as an ordinary child, despite his disarming appearance.' "That is very considerate of you Kenji. Then if you don't mind we will take you up on this offer."

A small smile appeared on his face once he realized that his plan had worked. Now this meeting would no longer be conducted with the mentality of a superior and a subordinate, instead they would treat him as an equal for the time being.

Reaching into the shadows of his sleeves he grabbed the tea cups and plates that Akame was secretly handing him and placed them on the table. A total of five cups. The last thing he took out was a rectangular airtight tin box.

The Hokage called one of the guards over, Anko Mitarashi if he recalled correctly. He hadn't met her personally, but from what he remembered from the show, she enjoyed tea ceremonies and was a poison expert.

She took the cups and kettle to subtlety checked them for any tampering that could suggest foul play. She found nothing and gave a discreate gesture to the Hokage telling him so.

Next she took a hold of the metal box and opened it, showing it to be filled with loose tea leaves.

"It's my own special blend. It does wonders for the body. I've been saving it for a special occasion and this seems just a good a time as any," Kenji told them. What he failed to mention was that tea leaves had been extracted from Stumpy's horn bush and then been left to dry in his cultivating tub, giving it special properties.

 **Spirit Tea Leaf**

 **Quality: Mid-Human**

 **\+ Tea made from this leaf will be delicious and have the following beneficial properties: relieves physical and mental stress, rejuvenates the body, fills the body full of energy. (1 teaspoon of tea leaves per person.)**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: N/A**

"One scoop per person should be enough," he added helpfully.

Anko still looked unsure but a gesture from the Hokage made her hold her tongue. She had a high resistance to poisons as did the Hokage and the Councilors, so it was unlikely that the boy would try to do something like that. And even if he did it was unlikely that it would work considering that a medical-nin had been stationed a few feet away from them. Not to mention the dozen Anbu operatives that were ready to attack him at the drop of a hat.

She momentarily left to get some hot water but when she returned, she did as instructed and added one teaspoon of loose tea leaves inside the pot for every person at the table including one for herself.

Almost as soon as she added the boiling water did the aroma of the leaves become stronger.

In no time the tea was done, and everyone had a tea cup filled with the golden liquid in front of them.

Kenji was the first to take a sip to show it was not a trick. He was closely followed by Anko who added chakra to her tongue in order to detect any hidden substances that could have been released after the addition of the hot water.

However, she was unprepared for what came next.

As an expert in tea ceremonies she had tried a wide variety of teas, but they all paled in comparison to what she had just tasted.

The taste was something that couldn't be described with mere words, flavors would appear and disappear leaving her befuddled. For a second she thought she tasted cinnamon but when she focused on it, it had turned into raspberry, and then that had turned into lemon. She felt an airy feeling inside of herself and was unable to hold back the small smile that had made it to her face. There was something calming about this tea that managed to dismiss all of her worries. Without realizing it she had drank the entire cup of tea in seconds.

It was then when her eyes shot open and her hand flew toward her left shoulder.

Kenji saw this and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"…M-my shoulder doesn't hurt anymore?" she said simple, throwing the Hokage and Councilors a look to tell them what she really meant.

'Interesting.' "Ah yes, this tea does have a minor healing benefit, it relieves some of the aches and pains from the body," Kenji said with a smile, deciding to play dumb for the time being.

"Ahem. It is delicious," was all that she said as she walked back to her post, but as she did so, she gave Kenji a curious glance.

Seeing that it had gotten Anko's approval the other three drank from their cups.

The moment it touched their tongues they became enchanted with the unique taste. They let themselves enjoy this one moment of bliss, forgetting about all of the stress they had accumulated during the past 2 weeks. When they went in for another sip, they found that their cups were already empty.

Then just like Anko, they felt their minds become clearer and more focused. Their aged and withered bodies also felt better as various cracks could be heard from their bodies as they righted themselves. The pain in their backs and joints had disappeared. They sat straighter in their seat now that their slight hunch was gone. Their skin also looked more vibrant and younger. Overall, they felt 10 years younger.

'Since they were already so old to begin with, the benefits are more noticeable compared to me or Anko. Hmm, something to take into account next time,' the small boy thought as he looked toward the elders that were moving their bodies experimentally.

"Now then, since we are all relaxed why don't we continue where we left off," the Third said as he returned back to his seat, feeling more chipper than before.

"Okay."

"I'd first like to ask a question if you don't mind. Where did you say you got that mask from Kenji?"

Seeing this question coming, Kenji had already prepared a response, "Oh that. I'm not sure to tell you the truth, it just appeared in my room one morning, about three days before the test. There was no note or anything, so I thought it must have been a present left by one of those Anbu assigned to watch me."

From the small signals that the three gave each other, it seemed that that was the right answer.

"I see. Now then, I would like to start off by saying that you have been pardoned from all crimes committed during the exam. So there is no need to fear," Hiruzen told him.

That momentarily stunned the small boy, but immediately put him on guard. "I humbly thank you Hokage-sama. I am sure that this must not have been an easy decision. But might I ask why?"

It was Koharu that answered this time. "Tell me young Yamamoto-san, what do you know of your lineage."

"I am an orphan, Councilor Utatane. As far as I am aware, it could be anything."

"Now, now, Yamamoto-san, surely you have some inkling to what it might be."

"…Surely you are not suggesting what I think you are?"

Homura that had stayed quite until now chose to speak, "We all witnessed you use wood release during the exam Yamamoto-san. In the entire history of this village, there has only been one clan with that ability. It's only logical to conclude that you might have some ties with them."

Kenji snorted, "Me? A Senju? Your sense of humor is truly amazing Councilor Mitokado. That however is impossible. "

The Hokage took out a folder from his robe and slid it to the small boy.

Kenji opened the folder, curious to what it contained and scanned the medical papers inside with a disbelieving expression. A simple DNA test showed that he indeed had Senju blood.

He gave them a skeptical look, or at least as much as he could with a blindfold, "This doesn't mean anything. The Senju were known for marrying outside of their clan. I'm sure that many in the village has at least some Senju blood in them, and not doubt they are more pure than me."

The aged leader knitted his fingers together as he leaned in close, "You sound rather defensive about this?"

"I'm not."

"Really? Cause to me it sounds like your trying your best to deny this fact? Most orphans in your position would be overjoyed to learn that they have some family remaining?"

"Family?"

"Princess Tsunade," Koharu chimed in.

"Her? No offense Elders but I would rather not be associated with someone like her."

"Why is that?"

"From the rumors I've heard, it seems that she is a violent drunkard that has no sense of responsibility. Also she's a very loose woman if her nickname is anything to go by."

The Third was taken aback by the rather harsh description of his former student, "No, no, Kenji-kun, there seems to be a misunderstanding. Her nickname comes from her poor judgement when it comes to money."

"What! That's even worse!" Kenji said with scorn.

All that were listening sweat dropped at his response.

"Moving on. The reason why I brought this up, is because you my dear Kenji are currently the only candidate to restore this long forgotten clan."

'Why would they bring this up now? This entire conversation is starting to sound fishy. But why would they offer- Those sons of a-' Kenji thought having figured out their plan, 'they want to trap me here. For a ninja clan to exist, either the Clan Head or the heir must be a shinobi at all time. But since I would be the only member in the clan, then it would be expected of me to be a shinobi until the day I die or until I could pass on the title of Clan Head to someone else. Nice try, but I'm not going to be a shinobi for all of my life.'

"Ahem, thank you Hokage-sama for telling me this, but I have no plans of ever taking the Senju title or restoring the clan. I do not want my achievements to be downgraded simply for belonging to a famous clan. I want the world to know me as Kenji Yamamoto not Kenji Senju," the small boy said with an apologetic smile.

"That is most disheartening to hear. I'm sure that you and Tsunade have many things in common if given the chance."

"I would appreciate it if you did not tell her of my existence if possible. I have lived without a family just fine until now, I don't need one now."

"…I will respect your wishes Kenji-kun but be aware that the truth will come out sooner or later."

"Thank you."

"Now on to other matters. I think it is high time that we talk about your crafting of these 'artifacts' as you call them. I would also like to discuss your involvement in why the Forest of Death is currently overrun by mutated animals," the Third said in a stoic tone to show that he was very serious.

Luckily Kenji had plenty of time to come up with a plausible excuse. "I take it you've already tested everything and still couldn't find out how I did it."

The Hokage took another folder from a seal in his wrist and passed it to Kenji, "Would you be so kind in explain this?"

Inside was plenty of incriminating evidence that showed Kenji as the culprit. One whole page was just on the exact crimes he had committed as well as the jail time he could be facing along with a rather large fine for all of the damages to the environment.

"Hurk! 5-5-5 billion," he stuttered out loud when he saw the final total. The greedy merchant felt lightheaded all of a sudden, as he went to pick up his cup of tea with trembling fingers.

The three grinned inwardly, glad to know that they had managed to unbalance the small boy. They had struck where it hurt the most, his wallet.

"I-I see. It looks like you have me in a corner. So what would it take for this to disappear," he said pushing the folder back to the Hokage.

"You can begin by telling us exactly how this came to be," Homura said.

"I suppose there is no choice then. I will begin with my ability," Kenji told them. 'This is all going to plan… well almost. 5 Billion! Really!?'

"I don't know how it works, but I've been able to channel chakra into objects for a few months now, and for what ever reason if I give them enough they gain certain abilities."

"Since you collapsed in the street you mean."

"I'm amazed that you were able to figure that out. Yeah, ever since my fainting spell, I got this ability. I have a theory of how it works though."

"Oh, what would that be?"

"I ran into a traveling monk that helped me out. He told me that all things in nature have something he calls 'kami'. Everything from rivers to mountains to animals or manmade tool. I think that I am somehow using my chakra to activate the kami in things. This would explain why I have no control over what ability they have."

"You mean you don't know what their ability is going to be beforehand," Koharu questioned.

The small boy shook his head, "Sorry, but you have as much a guess as me. The abilities could be anything, and I don't know it after it is done."

It was Homura turn to ask something, "And how does this tie in to the chakra beasts."

"Seeing as you have all this evidence against me, there is no need for me to hide this," he told them with a sigh as he held his tea cup by the handle.

 **Tea Cup**

 **Quality: Normal**

 **Defense: 12**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 2**

"Sometimes when I give objects chakra, they are unable to hold it," he explained as he began to upgrade it before them until it reached level 8. The next time he tried to upgrade it, it failed and crumbled into blue dust that fell on the dish under it. "When that happens, the item gets destroyed and turns into a blue dust. Back when I was first figuring out my ability, I didn't know what it could do so I was flushing it down the drain. It wasn't until later that I found that it had some miraculous properties. With it, I could make pills and elixirs. However, animals could also benefit from the dust. They could grow intelligent and gain the power to use different elemental attacks."

Hiruzen rubbed his beard pensively, "I see. You don't mind if I…"

"Oh no, by all means," Kenji offered as he took the plate full of chakra dust and handed it to an Anbu operative that appeared right next to him.

"It is very good that you decided to be honest about this Kenji-kun," the Third said with a kind grandfatherly smile, "it is good to own up to your mistakes."

"I understand that what I've done can not be easily overlooked, Hokage-sama, so I am willing to help you in anyway I can," Kenji offered humbly. 'Come on, take the bait.'

"If that is truly your honest opinion then perhaps there is a way for all of this to be resolved."

'Yes!' "And what might that be Hokage-sama?" Kenji asked like curious child.

"You have an amazing gift Kenji, your ability could benefit the entirety of the village if used wisely."

"I know this Hokage-sama, which is the reason why I had been so determined to build a shop. So that ninja and civilians alike could benefit from this ability of mine."

"Is that so? Then how would you like a chance to achieve this dream of yours," the old man told him.

"Do you mean to say that you would allow me to build my shop?"

"Yes, precisely that."

"That's very generous of you Hokage-sama, but I can't help wonder what you would ask in return for this," the merchant boy said in a cautious tone.

"In order for you to make your shop, there will of course be certain conditions," the Hokage told him as he took out a scroll from his sleeves showing that he too had come prepared.

Opening the scroll, Kenji read over the list of agreements, making sure to frown as he continued to read it even if on the inside, he was feeling the opposite. 'These conditions are better than I could have hoped for, but I can't tell them that. Let's see how far I can take this.'

"Ahem, I'm sorry Hokage-sama, but this says that I need to disclose the techniques used to make my pills and elixirs. This also says that I need to disclose all information on chakra beasts that I currently have. Chakra artifacts will also need to be regulated and go through screening before sold. Not to mention a bunch of smaller things."

"Oh I see now that this deal might come off as a little one-sided. Then perhaps you would like to add your own demands to help even the odds," Hiruzen said as he passed Kenji a pen.

Holding back a devilish grin, Kenji took the pen and made some small but reasonable adjustments to the list.

His demands were simple.

He would agree to give them all of his current pill and elixir recipes as well as teach group of people the art of alchemy. In exchange he would get royalties from every pill made using his techniques.

Next he agreed to give them all of the information on the chakra beasts, as well as a method in how to tame them. However this information would become public knowledge for anyone that wanted to learn it, and again he would receive a portion of the sales from the books sold. He also wanted all information on his involvement in their creation to be erased.

Concerning the regulation of chakra artifacts, he agreed that they should be regulated, but a system needed to be created using the input from him, the Clan Heads, the Hokage, and the Daimyo so that it would benefit all.

The last major change was that he wanted to be acknowledged as adult with all the rights and responsibilities it entitled but without being a shinobi.

Then there were small things like, a reduction in business taxes, the power to deny service to anyone no matter their title, the power to reclaim stolen artifacts, the ability to set his own prices and such.

The three looked over the list carefully. It all looked great to them, all except, "I'm sorry Kenji-kun but this one is impossible, we can not give you full legal rights if you aren't a shinobi of the Leaf."

"Are you sure an exception can't be made? I don't fancy myself dying during a mission to be honest."

The Third shook his head before continuing, "None I'm afraid, the Second made a law that prohibits this exact thing from happening to protect civilians. It was to prevent families from selling their children in arranged marriages and such."

'Tch. Damn Senju.'

"However, I can offer you this. You will be given the chance to refuse missions with a ranking of B or above."

"I'll take it then."

Koharu rolled up the scroll and summoned an Anbu guard to bring in some paper and ink.

"Then we have a deal?" Homura stated.

"Yes," was all Kenji said, unable to believe he had gotten away with it.

"Oh, one last thing Kenji-kun. I would appreciate it greatly if you were to offer council or some type of assistance should a matter requiring your expertise arise."

Kenji smiled softly, "I would be more than happy to help, Hokage-sama,"

"That is good to hear," the Third said, inwardly smiling, unable to believe _he_ had gotten away with it. Now he could push the matter concerning the rise of chakra beasts to the young boy.

The two grinned at each other, unaware what the other was thinking.

It only took a couple of minutes but a contract had been written, with both Kenji and the Hokage signing it, Koharu and Homura acted as witnesses.

Sure the sharing of his methods to create pills might seem damaging to Kenji on the surface, but he was thinking about this in the long run.

He had no problem teaching a couple of people, since this would ultimately fulfill his goal in strengthen the shinobi world. With the help of Konoha, alchemy would become well known much faster than with just him. And despite how much they tried, they would never be able to accomplish the same level as his own pills, but now with a rival to compare, the people would begin to see just how superior his own were. This would allow him to justify him raising the price of his own product. It was perfect, he would get a portion of his rival's earnings and increase his own in one move. Mwahahaha!

The chakra beasts were also another concern. By spreading the information on how to hunt and tame them, it would start a new business venture. He would offer to buy the animals body if it wasn't in too bad a shape or trade it for some equipment. Dismantling would also be impossible for chakra beast that were grade 2 or higher since normal weapons didn't work on them, meaning they would be forced to come to him or risk letting it rot away. He would get a stead supply of crafting materials without even having to leave the village. It was perfect.

Finally, the system for chakra artifacts. With it in place, people would start to get more interest in them, after all the more restricted something was, the more people wanted it. It was greed and pride at its finest, with people themselves raising the level of importance on his goods. Also since the Daimyo would take part in this discussion, he would no doubt make it favorable to civilian like himself and stop any monopoly that the shinobi might try to implement. And with him setting his own prices, this meant that he could raise or lower it to fit his needs and no one would be able to complain.

He had never even once considered running away from the village. He was too important and not nearly strong enough to survive on his own, especially know that he knew Danzo was keeping an eye on him. His goal was to make a lot of money, but that would all be worthless if he kept having to watch over his shoulder for the rest of his life.

'No, if you want to own me like a good little pet, then you better be willing to put up with all my selfish needs because this doggy is ready to be pampered,' the greedy boy thought. "Would anyone like another cup of tea?"

"If you don't mind," the Hokage said with a carefree smile.

"Not at all."

Anko made her return and began to make a fresh pot of tea.

"Now all that is left, is to find a piece of land to build my shop," Kenji said out loud.

Hiruzen took out another folder and handed it to him, "Not to worry Kenji-kun. I took the liberty of purchasing the land you wanted in your name, as well as a little extra, free of charge of course."

Kenji felt a grin raise on his face, "Thank you Hokage-sama"

It was then that a plume of white smoke erupted near them.

A white-haired man that could only be Jiraiya was standing on a battle toad with stupid grin as he began to introduce himself in a ridiculous dance, "I am the man who has no enemies in the North, South…"

Kenji recognized the signature right away. It was Yuuto from the exam or Jiraiya now. Immediately things began to click in his mind and he felt a bubbling annoyance build inside him. He also felt the telescope that he had forgotten to get back on the Toad Sage's body. "If you'll excuse me Hokage-sama, but I'll be activating the retrieval clause now."

"-The great Jira-Urk!"

The fool was just about to finish his infamous dance when Kenji shushun-ed in front of him and threw an uppercut right into his groin. His eyes bulged out as the air left his lungs and he fell over on his summons. The giant battle toad disappeared seeing as his presences was no longer needed.

Kenji crouched next to him and began to rummage through his clothes.

He found the telescope easy enough and just about to walk away when a hand grabbed his ankle. He turned to look at the Toad Sannin that had tears running down his face.

"P-please. Don't take it away, it's all I have?" Jiraiya begged the small boy as he clung to his pants.

Kenji tried to shake him off, but the man was determined to stick on.

"Come on Vice-Captain. It's me your best friend Yuuto. Remember all the good times we had. I know! I'll trade for it, how about limited-edition copies of my books!"

The small boy felt a tick mark form on his forehead, so he threw a punch at the man's face.

"Gold Edition!-"

"No!"

It was then that Jiraiya managed to grab the telescope out of Kenji's hands, "Aha! It's mine!"

However, before he could even take his first step, the small boy was already on him, looking like a possessed beast. He knocked Jiraiya over and began to rain blow after blow on his face.

"Ark. Ahh! Arg- Why- Isn't- Anyone- Stopping him!" the man shouted to the other shinobis who were just watching him get beating.

Anko looked to the Hokage. The Third answered her unspoken question with a simple hand gesture.

Three snakes emerged from the confines of her sleeve and headed straight toward the duo's direction. However they didn't stop Kenji, instead they went to Jiraiya and held down his limbs to stop him from defending himself. The blindfolded boy looked questioningly at the snake mistress but all she did was give him a smile and a thumbs up. He grinned as he continued the Toad Sage's punishment.

The Hokage and the councilors drank their cups tea in bliss, Jiraiya's pain filled yelps acting as a perfect therapeutic sound.

Things were still a long way from being fixed, but at least they were making progress.

* * *

 **A/N: Done. Now it's question time.**

 **First I'll answer one of the ones you all probably had. Why didn't he run away?**

 **The thing is that he wants money, not because he likes holding it but because all of the things he do with it. Being a rouge would severely limit what he could do. Also the Bingo book isn't just for ninjas it also has important people like the Daimyo or influential politicians. So not being a shinobi would save him from being placed in one.**

 **Also another concern you all might have. Rest assured that Kenji won't have the byakugan or any type of dojutsu.**

 **More talisman will make the appearance such as the rat talisman.**

 **Now, I think it is clear what Kaguya did with the chakra dust she took from Kenji in the last chapter. This sets the premise for the fanfic, with Kenji being tasked to deal with these outbreaks and such.**

 **As you can all tell, this chapter was more political in nature. I'll admit that the genin exam got out of hand, so this was a way to even that out.**

 **Now I am sure I left you all much to think about in this chapter…**

 **Bye. Until next time.**


	17. A Daimyo's Tears

**Disclaimer: I don't Naruto or any other references mentioned in this fanfic.**

 **Double chapter today, hurray. Work has been something else because of all this Christmas hype so sorry for not getting to this until today.**

 **Merry Christmas everyone.**

 **Chapter 17**

It was around 7 PM when Kenji finally stepped outside of the Hokage Tower.

In his hands was a copy of the contract he had signed with the Hokage as well as the deed to his new plot of land.

He wore a shinobi headband around his neck as a sign that he was finally a genin, his picture and license had been processed almost as soon as the meeting had ended. Of course in his chubby persona.

However the reason why he was so late was because he decided to take advantage of this opportunity to apply for every type of license available. The last thing he wanted was to be held back because he didn't have the proper documentation. Luckily had had already studied up on all of them so getting them was as easy as pie. Some of them he didn't have any use for right now, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Still, he was curious if he would ever get to use his new beekeeping license.

Akame peeked her head from the neck of his kimono.

"You were great by the way."

'Of course.'

He scratched her under her chin, "How about I treat you to some peking duck after this?"

'You better.'

"Go get the rest of the team please."

'Hmph, fine.'

Just like that she merged with the shadows inside his clothes and disappeared without a trace.

'Now then, one last thing to take care,' the blindfolded boy thought as he let his legs guide him to a familiar building.

 **Leaf Publishing**

He could almost picture the crackling thundercloud over the building as he gulped in uneasiness

This was the most famous publishing company in the entire world, or rather infamous. It was the publisher to the Icha Icha Paradise series, a title that the current president loathed with all of her heart.

Opening the entrance, he walked all the way to the front desk that contained a preppy secretary. Kenji was sure that she must be taking some mood enhancing supplements (drugs) since no one could be that cheerful all the time. "Ahem, excuse me. I'd like to make-"

"Ah Ken-chan. Come on honey, you don't need to act like a stranger," the brunet said with a wide grin. "Are you here to see the Boss today?"

"Y-Yeah, Midori-san. Is she avai-"

She interrupted him mid-sentence, "Oh, then you can just go right on in. I'm sure you know your way by know. She's been moan about you all week."

Kenji gave up on talking to her, he wasn't good at dealing with overly cheerful people. It also unnerved him that she never seemed to blink. "Okay then, bye."

"Congratulations by the way on becoming a shinobi," she said throwing him a thumbs up.

He hesitantly returned the gesture.

He had been inside the building plenty of times already so it was easy to find the Boss' door even if he wasn't blindfolded.

The small boy raised a hand to knock on the door, but it was unneeded as it was promptly pulled open.

Standing there blocking the doorway was a beautiful raven-haired woman. She had black rectangular glasses, a white blouse, a black dress suit with black heels. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail and combined with her serious no nonsense expression it gave her an aura of ice queen.

However all of that melted away as soon as she saw the small boy who still had his hand raised in the air.

Her face morphed into a wide grin as she lunged at him, "Aww, if it isn't my little author, Ken-chan. I haven't seen you in weeks, I was starting to get worried. What if some bad person took you home." She said all of this while rubbing her face on his cheek, "Your skin is still as soft and supple as ever."

Kenji got goosebumps from the close contact and substituted with a nearby potted plant. He didn't like people touching him so he tried his best avoid it. The few times that he was forced too, he liked to be the one to initiate it otherwise it would feel weird.

"Yukiko Satou," the small boy said coldly.

Yukiko pouted, "Call me Yuki-chan… or onee-san."

The look Kenji gave her could only be described as someone looking at filth on the bottom of their shoe. It was rather impressive overall since he had his eyes covered.

The older woman clutched her heart, "Ahh, that cold expression… I suppose that is fine in its own way too."

There was a reason why Kenji didn't like to come here often, the president was a hardcore shotacon.

"Ahem. I passed my genin exam," Kenji started before he was interrupted by a massive surge of pink aura engulfed the woman. Ninshu was sometimes more trouble than it was worth.

"Legal shota. Legal shota. Legal shota," the perverse woman muttered under her breath in some sort of trance.

Kenji wanted to run away but forced himself to stay by thinking of all the money he would need in the future, 'The things I do for my survival.'

"Anyways, I was hopping that since I am an adult in the eyes of the law, I could finally sign that contracted we talked about."

"Oh? Oh! Right yes, the contract," she said standing up, "Come in, step into my office."

Suddenly the innocent office took a sinister look in his minds eye. He got a shield talisman just in case. He was glad to have the foresight to ask Akame for his ring back.

For the next two hours, Kenji and Yukiko crafted a contract with Kenji using his cute factor to twist the contract in his favor.

"Thank you, Yuki onee-san," the small boy said, even if he felt a small part of him die inside.

"Don't worry Ken-chan, just be sure to visit me okay. I'll personally hold your check, so you don't forget," the woman said with a cheerful expression.

'It's no wonder why Jiraiya's books were accepted. The previous owner was also a bit of a pervert. Must run in the family,' Kenji thought as he woman rubbed his head.

A nearby employee to ask Yuki a question but the cold glare they received from the woman made them do a 180 and head back without saying a word.

"I have to go now," he told her and left without waiting for her reply.

 **(Scene change)**

According to the map that he was given, this entire land was his.

The Hokage must have really wanted to gain favor since he had not only bought the land that Kenji had been eyeing but also a bit of the surrounding land as well.

The distance between the village gate and the Hokage tower was 1.6 miles, meaning that the entire area of the village was 2.01 square miles. That was 1286.4 acres in total. (1 Acre is roughly the size of a football field.)

He was given 6 acres near the wall. It was mostly vacant farmland, with a couple of trees here and there.

Seeing just how much land he now had, meant that he would need to rethink his original plans. It would take a lot of time and money but he was sure he could build his dream shop.

Now that he had a book contract he would be getting a steady income. He had two years before the events of the original story were supposed to happen, which was plenty of time to transform his land into the most fortified home in the entire village. Immediately a scene of automatic cannons armed with Dragon Talisman springing out of the front lawn to chase away pesky door to door salesmen came to his mind.

First however he needed to make his base.

With the help of some earth clones, Kenji was able to set up the large tent that was his original shop. With a proud grin he set the shops sign for all to see.

 **Canopy Tent +16**

 **Quality: Low-Human**

 **Defense: 30**

 **\+ 700**

 **10+: The inside of the tent is expanded to 4X its normal size.**

 **12+: Applying chakra allows owner to adjust the appearance of the tent.**

 **14+: Applying chakra allows owner to change the size of the tent.**

 **16+: Can absorb chakra from ninjutsu attacks to form a barrier.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 130**

"Moon Artifacts is back in business baby," he said rubbing his hands together in an evil manner.

He had been working on the tent in his spare time. Since he knew it would be his home until he could build his actual shop, he had spared no expense in upgrading it. The first thing he did was create a steel mesh that he attached to the inside of the tent. Then he coated the outside with a special potion that would make chakra jutsu slide right off. Then he used a mixture of ink, blood, and chakra dust to write scriptures all over the walls in an attempt to bless it.

Like mentioned, he didn't know what abilities the artifacts would get. But that didn't mean he couldn't influence the result.

Still, he hadn't expected the results to be so powerful.

Touching the wall, Kenji fed it some chakra while thinking of an image in his head. The cloth under his hand hardened and turned into a white color. The tent quivered as it began to transform. Taking the appearance of a two-story Chinese house. It had white walls with a blue tiled curved roof, a wide wooden door, and rectangular black windows. A stone platform grew under it with two stone steps leading to the entrance. Red lanterns hung off the overhanging roof lighting up the entire outside of the house.

Taking his hand off the cement wall, Kenji panted. Making changes took a lot of chakra.

 **Chakra: Genin**

 **Chakra Points: 1,300/ 3,300**

 **?**

Opening the door of his temporary home, Kenji noticed that the wooden floor was polished to a shine. Some of his clones had started to set up lanterns to light up the room.

At the far side of the room were two wooden doors. The door in the very center of the wall led to the stock room and the one located near the left corner opened up to reveal a staircase which led to the second story.

Leaving the clones to finish their work, Kenji walked up the steps to his room.

It was twice the size of his previous apartment.

Frowning slightly at emptiness the small boy took some things out of his ring to liven the place up.

The first was the lavish queen-sized bed from his prison cell. Akame had gone back and taken it when no one was looking. Good job Akame!

The next was the small shrine he had made for Kaguya. He should see into building her a proper shrine later.

He was interrupted by a clone bargaining into his room.

"Master, there is someone outside," an earth clone informed him.

Kenji pulled apart the bandages on his face to peek outside, but it was useless. He had forgotten that the clones were placing anti-peeking talismans.

Readjusting his bandages Kenji began to make his way down stairs.

He saw a number of clones setting up different talismans around the shop. They would glow blue before disappearing into the wall, ceiling or floor. Some were to block any form of sight or sound, while others were traps set up to stop shop lifters or enemy shinobi.

'I wonder who it could be?" Kenji thought as he pocketed an upgraded kunai and a shield talisman.

Opening the door carefully, Kenji saw to his amazement a tall and burly warrior in red and brown armor (Or at least that was he guessed those shades of grey were). The lips on his grizzled face was set in a straight line and he sported an impressive mustache and beard combo. A leather eye-patch covered one of his eyes. He looked like a General that had stepped straight out of one of his novels.

However, on closer inspection he noticed that the armor also looked familiar, 'Wait a second. Didn't I design this armor? If I remember correctly it should be from General Gon from The Immortal Jade. But that would mean…'

"Yu-san? Is that you? Why are you dressed that way?" Kenji questioned tilting his head to the side.

Yu tried to hide it the best he could but Kenji could still feel the deep rooted embracement coming off him. "Hello brat, guess you're not fat anymore," the fire guardian said in his usual deep voice.

He received a slap of the head from Kana, one of the handmaidens to Lady Shijimi, "Be nice you overgrown bear. Ahem, hello Kenji-san do you mind if we come in?"

Kenji looked behind the duo and noticed a squad of people in cloaks behind them. "All of you?"

"Huh, no. Just four of us, the rest will stay outside," she said waving her hand.

"…Alright then," Kenji said after a moment of thought. It not like he could stop them if they really wanted to enter. If they were a threat, then it would be easier to fight them inside as a smaller number instead of all at once.

Kana gave what must have been the signal since two of the cloaked figures broke from the group and entered the tent.

Once they were all inside the two people removed their cloaks.

Immediately Kenji knew who they were. The Daimyo was easy to recognize even if he did look rather drained at the moment. Madam Shijimi was harder to connect since her whole appearance had gone through a drastic change but the space ring he sensed on her finger was proof enough.

Tilting his head to the side Kenji spoke, "Hmm? Daimyo-sama? Madam Shijimi? What an unexpected surprise."

Madam Shijimi broke into a wide grin, "Hello Ken-chan. It's great to see you again."

"Likewise, Madam Shijimi. I was not aware that either you or the Daimyo were in the village. Did you just arrive?" Kenji asked. Truth be told, Kenji didn't know what had been happening in the village since he was locked-up.

"No, we've been here for almost three weeks."

"…I see. Sorry, I've been rather … preoccupied these last few days."

"You mean your time in prison," Yu said tactlessly, causing Kenji's shoulders to hick up and Kana to pinch his ear.

Seeing that this reunion was going on the wrong direction, Madam Shijimi tried to smooth things over, "Ah, yes. The Hokage was gracious enough to allow us to witness the Genin exam since we were there at the time. We were able to see you're… performance."

Kenji appreciated her intent, still he gave an exhausted sigh, "I see. Well then there's no use hiding it. As you no doubt already found out, I was arrested."

"Got to say kid, you have some major potential. That last attack was something else. Hell, I'm not even sure if I could have avoid-"

"Yu-san. Shut up," Kana said with a sweet smile as she stabbed a senbon needle into his side.

Yu grunted in pain. He threw the smiling handmaiden a glare as he took out the needle.

With slumped shoulders Kenji asked, "Not that I'm not happy to see you all but was there something you needed?"

"Ah, yes! Ken-chan this is my husband Masakuni Shijimi. Dear, this is Kenji Yamamoto."

Kenji gave a 90 degree bow, "It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Daimyo-sama."

The Daimyo waved him off, "Please no formalities. My wife has told me many good things about you Kenji."

Rising, Kenji tried to act bashful, "I'm sure she was just being polite."

"Oh, I doubt that, she is a rather good judge of character," the leader of the country said as he stared lovingly into his wife's eyes.

Madam Shijimi tried to act coy as she turned her head to the side.

The rest in the room looked at their nauseating lovey-dovey act in contempt.

'Oy, you old geezers, stop acting like teenagers. Act your own age,' was what they all thought.

"Ahem, how rude of me. Let me prepare some tea," Kenji said before the two could get anymore hands-y.

With a casual wave, round wooden table appeared as if by magic. He took five chairs from his ring and placed them around the table.

Kana volunteered to make the tea, probably as a way to test for harmful substances. After giving her the canister containing the Spirit Tea Leaves and instructing her how to make it, they all took their seats.

"Thank you," the small boy said to Kana as she poured him a cup. They all watched him take the first sip before drinking it themselves.

"What?"

"Oh my?"

"This is-"

"How marvelous. Ken-chan you must tell me where you got this tea from," the now slim noblewoman said as she gracefully held the tea cup.

Yu and Kana stretched their limbs noticing the lack of aches almost immediately.

The Daimyo also stood straighter in his seat with his eyebags disappearing. He was filled with new found vigor.

"Ah, this is my special blend," Kenji explained, feeling relaxed.

Madam Shijimi took another careful sip of the golden tea, savoring the changing of flavors that danced on her pallet. "Oh this is simply heavenly. I'd love to have some myself. Is there any chance you can part with a few leaves."

Kenji shook his head, "Sorry, Madam Shijimi. The leaves to make this are somewhat rare. They can help revitalize the body and strength it as you can tell. Additionally, in order to make it, it needs to go through an entire fermentation process. I do have another canister but I'm unsure of when I will get the chance to make more so I'm rather reluctant to part with it."

"I'll give you 500,000 ryo for it."

"Sold!" Kenji shouted automatically.

Yu sighed at the small boy's shamelessness display, 'Have _some_ pride dammit.'

Kana giggled at their interaction, and even the Daimyo had a small smile on his face.

Money was exchanged, and the noble woman was now the proud owner of the magical tea.

"So tell me Ken-chan, what have you been doing," Madam Shijimi asked after putting away the tea box in her spatial ring.

"Well after you left, a lot of things happened."

For the next hour the two caught up on each other's lives.

Kenji explained about all of his adventures, excluding his fight against the chakra beasts.

He told her of the Inuzuka clans latest weapons, of his training to be a genin, the different types of artifacts he was creating.

In exchange, she told him about life in the capitol. She explained her miraculous transformation with the help of the diet pills. The change in fashion.

Kenji threw Yu and the Daimyo a look filled with pity and understanding when he heard this.

She excitedly explained how wuxia culture was starting to take root in the capitol. She went on and on talking about his book, asking questions about different things in it. Kenji was happy to answer all of her question and even gave her the next three books in the series.

Part of Kenji felt extremely embarrassed about all of this, while the other was already thinking of ways to profit off this new trend.

Kenji had to admit that this was nice. He wondered if this what it felt like to have family. Both the Daimyo and his wife went out of their way to treat him like a favored grandson. Yu-san took the roll of drunk uncle which left Kana as the reliable older sister.

That however didn't mean that he dropped his guard around them.

Yu looked bored as he played with his tea cup, so he looked at Kenji, "So what's with the bandages? Something wrong with your eyes?"

Immediately the pleasant atmosphere in the room came to a screeching halt.

"Yu-san," Kana said threateningly.

The giant man snorted. "What? I have this remember," he said pointing to his eyepatch, "I think I'm allowed to ask this question."

"I'm sorry Ken-chan," Madam Shijimi began before Kenji shook his head.

"No, it's fine. It's a validate question," the small merchant said. He knew that there was no ill intention behind it. Gently he unwrapped the bandages on his head.

They group held their breath as the white cloth began to pool in front of the small boy. They were expecting to see scars or some type of sign that indicated that he was injured. However when the last layer was taken off, there was nothing, not even a blemish.

However when Kenji opened his eyes, they saw that his eyes were a deep gold color.

All of those gathered knew that he was good looking even with the bandages, but now with out them on, there was a whole new level. His almond shaped eyes added a new layer of attractiveness that was hard to pin point, but it made him look more fairylike.

'It's not as bad in here. Must be because of the talismans blocking the outside,' Kenji thought to himself before steadily releasing his hold on his vision.

The room steadily began to fill with different colored smoke. At the same time his pupil began to turn into vertical slits making them look animalistic.

"Is that it?" Yu asked sounding disappointing.

Kenji rolled his eyes, "Yes, this is the only physical change but…"

"But?"

"To be perfectly honest I'm almost completely blind," the small boy admitted. He couldn't even see six inches in front of him because of all the nature energy in the air.

He heard them gasp, and Kana asked, "How did this happen?"

Kenji shrugged his shoulder, "It's one of the risks of the job I'm afraid. Sometimes higher grade artifacts don't play nice."

"Don't play nice? Do you mean to say that they are alive?" Madam Shijimi asked concerned.

The small boy decided to explain it to them since it would be beneficial to his goal, "Not really. Let me explain."

He took out a low-human grade comb and a high-human grade fan from his ring.

"As you no doubt already noticed, I use a strange way of marking my weapons. There's actually a reason for that."

He showed them the comb that had a sigil of a red man inside of a square. Then he should them the fan that had the same sigil on the bottom only in gold.

"The man inside of the square signifies that it is a Human grade chakra artifacts-"

"How many grades are there?"

"So far the highest I've encountered is Heaven grade. It goes Human, then Earth, and finally Heaven."

The Daimyo who rarely talked made an enlightened face, "Oh, like the spirit artifacts inside of your book."

"…yes, moving on. The three grades are then divided into three additional tiers, Low, Mid, High. Red signifies low, Silver is Mid, and Gold is High. This comb is a low human, and this fan is high-human understand."

"Yes," the chorused.

"Okay the, the next thing to take into account is that the higher the grade, the less control you have. They aren't necessarily alive but they do have their own intentions. Human grade artifacts can be used just fine and are perfectly safe. Earth grade artifacts on the other hand should only be given to those that have a strong enough willpower to control them."

"Fascinating."

"So what does this have to do with your eyes," the giant man said.

His cat like eyes gave Fire Guardian a small glare, "I was getting to that. This is a result of using a Heaven grade artifact during the exam. I was not prepared for it, and it caused some… side effects. I like to test the effects of all my merchandise myself so that it is safe to sell. Of course there have been a couple close calls before, but this is the first time that I can't fix it."

Madame Shijimi looked worried as she nervously asked, "Y-You can't fix this. B-But didn't you regrow your arm in the exam?"

Kenji turned his neck so fast, that if he was a normal kid, he would have gotten whiplash. Combined with the narrowing of his eyes, it made for an intimidating sight.

Then he relaxed his gaze, "Right, I forgot that you saw all of that."

"Well normally I could, but my body doesn't treat them as a defect so there is nothing to heal. …I would have to reluctantly agree as well. Ironically I've been able to see more clearly."

Kana looked confused, "What do you mean Ken-chan?"

With a melancholy smile, Kenji explained. "Ever since my accident I've been able to see the world in a whole new light. It's like someone has peeled off the curtain of the world and laid it bare before me."

"Oh, that's quite the claim?" the Daimyo said unsure if the boy was being literal or philosophical.

Kenji smiled at their skepticism. "Perhaps a demonstration. Daimyo-sama you said that Madam Shijimi is a good judge of character. It just so happens that I am too." He turned to his right where Yu was sitting, "Tell me Yu, who is the most important person in your life."

"Ehh? Me, why are you asking me that?" the large burly shinobi said all of a sudden very shy even as he subconsciously thought of 'her'.

Still that was enough for Kenji, he saw what he needed to. While Yu didn't know it yet, but Kenji had used ninshu to read his heart. Bullshit powers for the win!

'What the hell? Doesn't this girl look like Shampoo from Ranma 1/2. But this can't be his daughter? There's absolutely no way this bear of a man could be the parent of such a cute girl. So that only leaves…'

Kenji made a creeped out face as he scouted closer to Madam Shijimi on his other side, "Lolicon?"

"What!? You little brat! How did you come up with that!" Yu said slamming his hand down on the table in indignation, causing the cups to rattle.

"I looked into your heart and I saw a purple haired girl about 11 years old."

"And that was your first guess!" the man roared.

"Well, what else am I supposed to think," Kenji said defensively.

Yu growled warningly, before he reached into the depths of his armor and took out a photo. He slammed it on the table and everyone gathered around to see it.

It was a picture of Yu standing next to a beautiful purple haired woman, the girl that Kenji saw was sitting on his shoulders, only she looked to be five or six.

"Ehh? No way? Yu, are you married?" Kana said as she looked back and forth between the man that was turning red and the photo.

The Daimyo also looked slightly stunned, "What a surprise?"

"How did you trick this woman into actually giving you a child. She has to be adopted? She's adopted right? Right? There's no way someone this cute could come out of you?" Kenji exclaimed, stating the true opinions of everyone.

Yu was steadily growing redder from either anger or embarrassment. He pointed one of his thick sausage fingers to the woman in the photo, "This is my wife, and this is our daughter."

"What? Could it be that there is something wrong with her," Kana said as she took the photo more closely trying to find any defects.

Ah, Kenji saw a vein pop on the large mans forehead. He supposed that they had taken their teasing far enough. "Could it be that she's a kunoichi?"

"…She is? But I'm not saying from which village?" Yu admitted before crossing his arms and looking away.

However Kenji was still able to see the image of a village on top of three mountains connected by three bridges. "Eh? She's a Nadeshiko kunoichi. Isn't that the one filled with amazons that fight male and then take them back to their village as husbands if their strong enough. I guess that makes sense."

Yu looked shocked, "W-what? How did you know?"

"I told you already that I can look into your heart? Did you think I was lying when I said that I saw the world in a whole new light?"

"Wow. Ken-chan that's amazing," Madam Shijimi complimented the small boy.

Kenji played with a strand of his hair in an embarrassed manner, "Ah, it's not that special. Usually it's very limited. Although it is just as much a curse as a gift."

Kana tilted her head to the side, "A curse?"

"Yeah, since I can see the true intentions of those around me it's hard for me to trust people. For example, what's the real reason that you visited me tonight Daimyo-sama?" he boldly stated in a calm tone that made those gathered freeze.

Madam Shijimi still tried to act innocent, "What do you mean Ken-chan?"

Playing with the cup in front of him, Kenji gave her a side-glance, "There's no use hiding my lady. Honestly speaking it would be better if you just said what you wanted instead of making me figure it out. It would save us a lot of trouble."

The Daimyo and his wife exchanged looks before resigning themselves.

 **(Break)**

"…I see," Kenji said calmly as he stared impatiently, he could feel their guilt radiating off them.

The married pair had sad smiles on their faces. The Daimyo spoke first, "I apologize for our selfish request."

Kenji released a sigh, "Well I expected something like this." He shrugged in a 'what-can-you-do' manner before giving them a small smile, "Frankly I'd be a little insulted if you didn't at least try to use me."

Madam Shijimi who was feeling the guiltiest looked at him in worry, "…How does that leave us?"

"Before I make my decision, I think it would be better if I explained my 'healing ability' a bit," Kenji told them.

They all gave him their undivided attention.

"First I'd like to start by saying that my healing ability is special. To be honest it's should be considered a kinjutsu, or a forbidden technique. While it can heal life threatening injuries or even replace entire body parts a price still needs to be paid?" the small boy said ominously with narrowed eyes.

The Daimyo gulped in nervousness, "A price? What is it?"

Kenji was surprised to feel resolve building up inside the man.

"You really do love each other don't you," the boy muttered.

The usually introverted Daimyo stood up straighter in his seat and looked directly into Kenji's eyes, "Of course, there is nothing I wouldn't do to make her happy!"

"Urg. Can you please tone it down a bit. All of these emotions are hurting my eyes," Kenji groaned as he rubbed his eyes. "Well, it's nothing bad for you. My jutsu works by severing a portion of my total reserves in order to heal." He purposely left out that it was only a small amount.

Yu rubbed his beard in thought, "For how long?"

"Permanently. That portion of my reserve is lost forever, I can only hope to build it back up again. This flaw is the reason why I don't like to use it. It's more of a trump card. Another reason I tried to hide it, was because I didn't want people to come up to me in hopes of healing them?" he explained to them.

The mood had once again turned sober around the table.

As shinob,i both Kana and Yu knew how grave that price was, you were practically crippling yourself.

The Daimyo and Madam Shijimi, while civilians, had at least a basic understanding to know that what he had just said was a major thing not to be taken lightly.

The Daimyo tightened his hands into fist. He shot up from his chair so fast that it was knocked to the ground.

Everyone looked at him in concern, especially his wife.

He had a very serious expression on his face, which was very unlike his usual lazy expression.

He turned to Kenji and then gave a 90-degree bow. "Please heal my wife!"

The small boy was honestly stunned, he didn't think that the leader of his country would do something like that. He had been preparing to go back and forth for a bit before finally healing Madam Shijimi. But this had thrown him completely off track.

Kenji's voice was filled with confusion, "You would bow to me, a nameless orphan, a child no less and throw away your pride as the leader of this nation just to heal your wife, …why?"

Drops of liquid fell on the polished floor of the shop, and even though Kenji couldn't see the man's face, he knew that they were tears full of emotion, "Be-Because she means everything to me! There is nothing in this world that I wouldn't do for her!"

"Even your Noble's pride?"

"Pride! That's trash compared to her happiness!" the man said as he looked at Kenji in complete seriousness.

Tears were still trailing down his face but Kenji could see a burning inferno in his eyes.

Kenji tried his best to understand the emotions radiating off the man, but it was no use.

Standing up from his seat Kenji made his way next to the man and held up a hand as if to give a high five.

The Daimyo looked confused before realizing what the small boy wanted. He placed his palm against the tiny hand.

No words were said but a connection was made. Kenji was able to see into the usual meek man and saw an unwavering warrior with such a strong back that it seemed to be unbending even if the entire world was placed on his shoulders. This was a man that would do anything for his loved ones, the most dangerous type of man.

The Daimyo likewise saw Kenji's true self, but unlike the way that he portrayed himself, the man was able to see just how vulnerable the small boy was. The boy was full of doubts and worries, so much in fact, that he had built a persona of ruthless merchant to protect himself from others. In that instant he knew that Kenji didn't care for money or gold or jewels. No, it had never been about materialistic possessions, it had always been about the security that they brought. Money allowed one to be more free after all, and that was what Kenji truly yearned for, the freedom to live his life the way he wanted.

The contact only last for a fraction of a second but that was enough. Kenji took back his hand as if he was scalded by hot water and gave the Daimyo a startled look. The Daimyo on the other hand looked down on the small boy with an understanding expression.

Kenji schooled his face into a stoic expression and turned to the man, "…I'll heal her."

"Thank you," the Daimyo said gratefully as he gave Kenji a smaller bow.

The others didn't know what happened at all. To them it looked like they just touched hands before Kenji jumped back in surprise. Still at least one thing was certain, whatever had happened between them had somehow convinced Kenji to heal Madam Shijimi.

Kenji turned to the woman that had been watching nervously until now, "I'm going to heal you now Madam Shijimi, if that's okay?"

The beautiful woman looked stunned but a nod from her husband was enough to set aside her worries. "Yes, I'll be in your care."

Kenji took one of the woman's pale hand gently in his and activate the Yang Seal on his shoulder.

Madam Shijimi felt a shiver run down her body but there was suddenly a sense of fullness in her abdomen. With a trembling hand she reached for it and felt tears threaten to come out of her eyes.

Kenji on the other hand had turned pale as he shakily stood and had to grip the table to steady himself.

This wasn't a result of the Yang Seal, but since he wanted to sell this as some sort of forbidden mystical ability it would be strange if there weren't at least some side effects. That's why he used seal-less medical ninjutsu on his body to make himself pale and sickly as well as lower his reserves in case either Kana and Yu were a sensor. If people thought that he couldn't use it very often then they wouldn't rely on him so much.

Madam Shijimi wrapped him in a bone crushing hug as she cried, "Th-thank you! Thank you! Thank You!..."

As she continued to thank him, all Kenji could think was, 'Oh great, now she got eyeliner all over my clothes. It's going to be so troublesome to wash it off.'

After some more crying she finally let him go. The Daimyo rushed to her and they embraced each other passionately.

"I suggest you go to the hospital and run some test just to be safe," Kenji said in a tired voice, wanting them to leave his shop already. He was still frazzled from the brief connection with the Daimyo and want nothing more than to collapse on his bed.

"Yes! We'll do that right now!" the Daimyo declared as he helped his wife off her seat.

Kenji walked them out the door, making sure to reapply his bandages so that he wouldn't be blinded by all of the nature energy in the air.

"I'm sorry that the night ended in such a sour note Ken-chan? It was not my intention," Madam Shijimi said honestly to the small boy.

Kenji shook his head, "No, it was fun. I haven't interacted with a people in a long time so it was… nice."

"I'll be sure to find an appropriate reward for this Kenji Yamamoto," the Daimyo said in a serious voice full of commitment.

"There's no need Daimyo-sama. If anyone deserved my help it was you two. With this I've done my good deed for the year. Haha," the small merchant said rubbing the back of his head with a large smile.

"No, I'll be sure to help you in any way possible," the man said seriously, before he took out a gold token with the image of golden flames on one side and some engravings on the other. Madam Shijimi did the same as she took off one of her earrings and gave it to Kenji. It was a gold phoenix hand off a chain, and with a red ruby in its talons.

"This will serve as proof that you are under our protection. Don't be afraid to use them if you are ever in trouble."

Gripping the two tokens, Kenji smiled as he inclined his head, "Thank you Daimyo-sama, Madam Shijimi."

"We will be off for now, but I would like to speak more with you soon Ken-chan?"

"I will be waiting here."

Kenji watched as they walked away, then he walked back inside, making sure to look his door. It was already passed 11.

'Human sure are interesting,' the small boy thought.

Just as he was about to put away the table his shadow elongated.

"Akame? Where were you? You've been gone for a long time?"

'There's a problem,' the small rabbit said telepathically.

Raising an eyebrow Kenji asked, "Problem how?"

'The lizard became a Level 2 while I was gone.'

"What?! Drago the gecko?"

'Yeah. Don't be mad?'

"What about the others?"

His shadow shook its head, 'No one else.'

"Are they close by?"

'Here.' Akame said before the shadow stood up and transformed into a giant mouth that spit out his chakra beasts.

They all seemed to be gasping for breath.

"Can they breathe in there?" Kenji asked worriedly.

'No,' was all she said before she spit out Drago who was also panting for air.

"What the hell!" Kenji shouted in surprise as he leaped back.

He turned to Akame who left his shadow and hopped on top of the table.

"Why is there a velociraptor in my shop!"

* * *

 **A/N: Done. Hope you enjoyed this.**

 **Next chapter will be posted in a few minutes.**

 **What did you think?**

 **Surprised?**

 **Did you enjoy that little family dynamic?**

 **I'll go into more detail in the next couple chapters.**

 **PS: Drago can still turn invisible.**


	18. Chakra Beast Association

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references mentioned in this fanfic.**

 **In this chapter I will try to fix one of the world's biggest plot holes, so read on.**

 **Chapter 18**

Days passed in a blur for Kenji.

Ever since his release there always seemed to be something that needed his attention.

He was constantly being invited to dinner and tea parties by the Daimyo and his wife. Of course, he would be a fool to pass a free meal so he always accepted.

They had taken Kenji's advice and visited a doctor just to be sure, and as luck would have it, Madam Shijimi was now able to have children again. Every time Kenji visited them, they would always shower him with attention and tried to get to know him a little better. In exchange he helped them by providing them with the very best of his elixirs and pills. Even the Daimyo's declining health was fixed after only a few days, and he looked healthier even when compared to his prime.

It took some time, but eventually Kenji started to see them as more than just a source of income. He would even go so far to call them close associates.

However that didn't mean that Kenji would hold back when a deal was made. Thanks to all of the time spent with the Daimyo, he was able to make quite a few sales.

The Chastity rings were a huge selling point, and just like Madam Shijimi had said, the Daimyo was all too willing to support his cause. They were relatively cheap to make, since it only required a talisman's ability to be transferred to ring and 5 chakra points to upgrade, because of this he always made them whenever he had some left-over chakra points. He used scrap metal to make the rings, so the only real cost was the ink and paper for the talisman. With these being 400 a piece the Daimyo had bought his entire stock which totaled to over 4,000,000 ryo.

That wasn't all since the regulations concerning artifacts had not been decided yet, the Daimyo had chosen to get his fill before then.

He bought many artifacts from different grades for his personal treasury. The total was almost 140,000,000 ryo in pure gold. Kenji didn't stop grinning for at least two days. Not even 11 and he had already made his first multimillion under the desk deal.

However it was only a few days later that a meeting had been held to discuss matters concerning the village. Everyone important had been invited such as the Head for all 17 clans, the Civilian Council, the Hokage, his Advisors, and the Daimyo. Kenji had obviously been invited as well since he knew most about what they were going to talk about. He still refused to take the Senju seat though.

During this gathering the Hokage discussed the importance of these newly created items. Almost immediately the room had been divided. Some of the clans wanted to make them exclusive to shinobi, while others wanted to make them available to the general public too. Kenji was in favor of the latter since it meant more profit for him.

Thanks to Akira's father, he had the backing of the Civilian Council. Apparently the councilman had been truly grateful of Kenji after his son had passed the genin exam, or more accurately he was thankful for the upgraded equipment. The other member of the civilian council also saw this as a way to raise their own families' power. But the most defining reason was that Kenji was always seen in the company of the Royal Family, and they wanted to curry favor by siding with him.

All of the minor Clan Heads also saw this as an opportunity to restore their clans that were beginning to decline. As such they did what was only logical, they allied themselves to the new power in the village.

It was also during this time that Kenji finally met Danzo, since he represented the Shimura Clan. Danzo was one of the few that wanted to keep the artifacts as shinobi exclusive. No shock there. Throughout the entire meeting Kenji had his eyes trained on the man for any signs of foul play. The man must have sensed his gaze even with the bandages because he did nothing that was even remotely suspicious.

Not everything could be decided in just one day however so the meeting needed to be extended by a few days. In doing so, they did the one thing that they should have never done. Give Kenji enough time to plan.

With Madam Shijimi's guidance he was able to learn many political techniques to get his way, everything from backdoor deals to the ever-present bribe and blackmail. The noblewoman said that he was a natural.

In the end, with the Daimyo's support Kenji's side won, and it was decided that chakra artifacts would be allowed to the general public, although a strict code was implemented so that not just anyone could buy them. Only distinguished and trusted members of society (*Cough* Nobles *Cough*) would be allowed to buy them. In other words, Kenji had the final say in all things artifact related.

However it was during the final meeting that the Hokage drop the final bombshell. In other words he informed all of those gathered about the emergence of the chakra beasts in the world.

Suddenly Kenji felt very cheated as he remembered the terms of the contract. He had glared at the Hokage through his bandages during the remainder of the meeting.

This was considered a nation-level threat and was deemed a matter of upmost importance. Luckily, or rather unluckily for Kenji, the Hokage had already thought up of a plan. He proposed making a new division tasked with the capture and removal of these new threats.

The Chakra Beast Association was thus created. It would be comprised of the Inuzuka Clan, the Aburame Clan, the Hatake Clan, etc. Basically, anyone that had an animal partner was invited to this new group.

However it still needed a leader, and this was the part where Kenji's inexperience was truly shown as these clans debated over each other in the fiercest game of hot potato to date. This battle was not fought over who would be the leader, but over who wouldn't get saddled with that title. They metaphorically ran circles around Kenji. Even the hot tempered Tsume showed an impressive amount of political maneuvering that left others shocked. As such Kenji was given the title of Leader of the CBA (Chakra Beast Association).

Their reasoning was that since Kenji had the most contact with them he was the most qualified. Truth was that they didn't want to deal with all of the paperwork or any potential fall out because of this new unknown enemy so they were more than willing to throw the new kid under the bus. This organization wasn't just for chakra beasts near the village either, it was meant for the entire Land of Fire, meaning that Kenji would now have to deal with every little problem himself.

That was even before the Hokage went for the killing blow and they found out that he was the only one in the village that was capable of taming them so to speak. Of course, Kenji tried his best to fight back stating various reasons why he would be unqualified for the position but the Hokage countered every point skillfully, and he was quickly backed into a corner.

A new bill was passed almost ridiculously fast, this one dealing with Chakra Beast in general.

Kenji's hand almost had to be physically forced to write his name on that bill.

When the meeting had been official finished Kenji had complained to the Hokage, but all Hiruzen had done was show him the contract, that stated Kenji would help in all things concerning chakra beasts. The small boy had been played, and despite himself, Kenji felt his respect for the old man grow.

That had been more than a month ago, and Kenji was finally starting to adjust to his new lifestyle.

The Daimyo and all of the other Nobles had left once the meeting had ended. Peace had returned to the Leaf Village once more… or at least for the moment.

 **(Scene change)**

 _~Poor unfortunate souls_

 _In pain, in need_

 _This one longing to be thinner_

 _That one wants to get the girl_

 _And do I help them?_

 _Yes, Indeed_

 _Those poor unfortunate-~_

"-oh I'm done," Kenji said as he wiped the dirt off his brow.

In front of him were two large cloth bundles filled with weeds.

He was currently in his chubby persona minus the kung fu beard. It was just too hot so he had needed to take it off earlier.

An old woman came out of her herbal tea shop and inspected his work, "Done already eh? Well let's see if you managed to do any work with all that singing."

The large backyard had been cleaned and the garden had been well taken care of. It was such a good job that there were sparkles all over the place.

With an impressed face she signed the mission scroll that Kenji had presented to her, "Not bad, this is good work… for a beach ball."

Kenji just smiled, since he could sense her true emotions anyway.

With nothing else to do Kenji made his way to the mission hall to turn in the rank D-mission.

He opted to use the rooftops like any respectable shinobi. He did flips and cartwheels as he traveled as he particularly enjoyed the feeling of gliding through the air.

He jumped off a roof and curled into a ball to perform a flip.

"And he sticks the landing! The crowed goes wild," he announced landing in a gymnast pose.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

He saw a young 3-year-old looking at him from a small distance away, clapping enthusiastically.

Kenji gave them a thumbs up before walking toward the large building in front of him.

Walking into the mission hall with purpose he went up to the counter and presented his signed mission scroll to the attendant, "Here you go?"

The civilian manning the counter took the scroll with a grin, "Well, well, if it isn't Master Shu. Back so soon?"

Kenji went to stroke his beard before remembering that he forgotten to put it on. When he was in his fat appearance, he was Master Shu, loyal shinobi to the Leaf Village. When he was out of disguise, he was Kenji Yamamoto, emancipated civilian and shop owner. He wanted to keep his double life as separate as possible.

"Genta. Shouldn't you be on your break," the chubby boy said as he handed his ID to the man. It had a picture of his chubby form with a fox like grin, complete with fake beard.

"I'm heading out now," Genta said as he began to record the mission details on the primitive computer.

"I think I passed Nora on my way here, looked like she was heading for restaurant district. In fact a source of mine says that a new dish is supposed to come out today at the BBQ Hut," the small boy commented casually, as he slid two coupons on the counter.

Genta's finger stopped their typing as he turned to Kenji and gave him an impressed look, " _MY MAN_."

The man's fingers blurred into action as he finished the recording in seconds. Then he wrote a check and handed it to Kenji, "I'll be sure to set aside any good D-rank missions for you next month since you completed your quota already."

Kenji saluted the man as he walked towards a separate counter to have the check cashed.

Now the way that missions worked was different than what people expected. For instance, the prices for missions.

 **Ninja Mission Pay**

 **D-rank: 5,000-50,000**

 **C-rank: 30,000-100,000**

 **B-rank: 150,000-200,000**

 **A-rank: 150,000-1,000,000**

 **S-rank: 1,000,000 minimum**

Just looking at the price for missions made one think that shinobi were rolling in money right. Wrong!

This was the amount that the client paid, not what the shinobi got.

For instance, take the basic D rank mission, like the one that Kenji had just done.

The old woman had paid 5,000 Ryo for someone to clean up her garden.

The village took a 10% fee out of every mission so 5,000 turned into 4,500.

Then that was divided into however many people took the job, typically four in a squad. In the end each member earned 1,125 ryo.

That wasn't all though.

5% of that went to taxes, even shinobi weren't excepted from this.

10% went into health care. Injuries were a very real possibility after all and getting healed by Medic-nin was rather costly.

15% was also subtracted from every pay-check and placed into a retirement fund. Chances were that most shinobi were unable to continue after age 30 for whatever reason, so this was in place to support them after they finished taking missions. If they died on the job, then this money was given to their family as financial aid.

 **1,125- 30%= 787.5 ryo (78.75 Dollars)**

787.5 for 3 hours of work. That wasn't even taking into consideration all of the equipment that shinobi had to buy to replace those they lose during the mission. Explosive tags and ninja wire weren't exactly cheap.

In the end things looked something like this.

 **R= Reward**

 **((R- 10%)/4)-(15+10+5)%= Total**

In the end however, there was still one important question. Why would people pay 5,000 ryo for D-rank missions that basically amounted to glorified chores.? The answer: Taxes.

D-rank missions counted the same as giving to a charity in other words it was tax deductible, so most businesses or wealthy merchants chose to hire genin to mow their lawn or babysit in order to reduce the amount of taxes they needed to pay every year.

Genin Team used them as teamwork exercise and skill building, while the clients got cheap labor and a reduction on their taxes. Everyone wins. The person who came up with this was you guessed it, Tobirama Senju.

On a separate note, Clans were a little special. The health care and insurance money were instead paid to them since clans support their own. That also meant that clans that had more shinobi tended to be wealthier as a result.

"Here you go, 3,150 ryo is your total," the man behind the glass said as he deposited Kenji's money in a slot.

Since he had done the mission by himself he was able to make more money. As a member of the reserve corps, he was allowed to take up to 15 missions per month. He could do D-rank missions by himself or group up with other reserve shinobi and try for C-rank. The bare minimum that they needed to take a month was 10 missions.

Those that were assigned to a sensei could take as many missions as they wanted.

He smiled as he walked out of the tower.

Using the roof tops, he was able to make his way to his next destination.

It was a large three-story building that stood far away from the streets. Behind this building was a large open ground enclosed by an electrified fence and numerous seals.

He had taken off his disguise during his trip, and he was back into his handsome lean self. He had Kaguya's pink bandana tied around his eyes. He was wearing blue robes and puffy white pants, his shoulder length hair was let louse behind him. He was wearing an earring that looked like a tiny sword on one ear and the phoenix earing that Madam Shijimi had gifted him on the other. The Daimyo's badge was around his neck. In total honesty it was hard to tell his gender on appearance alone.

Pushing open the wooden doors he was met with what looked like a hospital waiting room, only it was completely empty sans a lone secretary who was behind a desk writing on a computer.

She glanced up when she heard the door open and spoke in professional manner, "Ah Mr. Yamamoto, you've finally arrived. The environmental reports from the Northern provinces arrived earlier today. I've taken the liberty of having them sent to your office."

Kenji dismissed her entirely as he made his way further inside. His office was at the top floor of the building and he need to take two flights of stairs since 'apparently' an elevator was out of their budget.

He was just about to open the door to his office when he felt a presence behind him making him stop.

He stood perfectly still for several seconds before his body sprung into action and he rushed into his office and tried to close the door behind him, however a foot jammed the door.

"Ow! Ouch! Kenji stop that! Ow, that really hurts," said the owner of the foot.

Kenji on the other hand ignored them as he put the entirety of his body into closing the door.

Finally the foot retreated and Kenji slammed the door shut, locking it just to be safe.

However he barely made it five steps before the doorknob was twisted and a smug Hiruzen stood there holding a key.

"Tch." Kenji clicked his tongue and walked behind the large oak desk. The room was filled with towers of boxes full of paper work and reports. This was all the information that had been gathered from all over the Land of Fire, which still needed to be reviewed.

"Now, now Kenji-kun. There's no need to be hostile, I just came to say hello," the Hokage said as he let himself in, pushing in a catering cart with a silver plate and lid.

"Sorry Hokage-sama, I didn't see you," Kenji said in sweet voice, pointing to his bandages.

"Haha, always the jokester Kenji-kun, I even went out of my way to bring you lunch," the old man said as he pushed the cart forward.

Kenji who already had a pen in his hand stopped momentarily as he gave the grinning Hokage a searching look, then he looked back down to the paper in his hand, "Take it away, I don't need it."

"Don't you at least want to know what it is before you reject it?"

"No."

Akame who heard lunch being mentioned made her presence known as she hopped out of his collar.

"See, even Akame-chan is curious," the Hokage continued.

Rolling his eyes Kenji gave in, "Fine, what is it I'm having today?"

Hiruzen smiled as he placed the tray on the desk and removed the lid to show a pile of paper work 12 inches high.

The pen in Kenji's hand snapped in half.

The Hokage fanned the air as he was smelling a delicious meal, "Ah, it's still warm. Fresh out of the printer. I thought you could use more fiber in your diet Kenji-kun. Hahahaha."

Kenji looked in the direction of the aged shinobi and before he broke into a sarcastic laugh, "Hahahaha- Eat a dick Hokage-sama," he finished with a pleasant smile.

"Hahaha. Just think of this as payback for bribing Naruto into pranking my office," the Third said as he took his pipe form his robe.

The small boy turned back to his paperwork, "I don't know what you are talking about Hokage-sama."

"You payed him with 10 tickets for Ichiraku's right. Well it only took 15 for him to sell you out," Hokage went on as he took a seat on one of the couches in the room.

"Tch. I knew I couldn't trust that whiskered brat to keep a secret," the young shinobi muttered under his breath.

A small cold war had started between the two ever since the day of the meeting, where Kenji was given this bothersome position. The Hokage claimed it would serve as training. Training for what, Kenji didn't know, but he didn't like the sound of it.

It usually involved small pranks here and there, with the occasional insult match.

So far it was Kenji: 9, Hokage: 15.

In truth this little prank war had allowed Hiruzen to grow closer to Kenji, even to the point where the small boys true self would slip out. They both knew that there were no negative feelings between them, and it was just Kenji's own way to deal with this sudden responsibility.

"Did you need something Hokage-sama, or did you just come to pick on me?"

The Hokage was casually seating on his seat enjoying the rare moment of rest from his own paper work. "Putting all jokes aside, there was a reason why I came. I'm hear to remind you that you have your first class today."

The sound of scribbling stopped as Kenji looked at the Third, "You mean the Alchemy Class? That was today?!"

"It looks like you really did forget. Anyways, the class starts at three, so be sure to go to the appointed location. Wouldn't want to make your eager students wait," he said as he stood up and walked toward the young boy before throwing him a scroll. "Here, I thought this might come in useful."

Kenji opened the scroll hesitantly. Written inside was the method to perform the Shadow clone jutsu.

Then the aged old man took out a sealing scroll and unsealed a whole pie and placed it on the desk in a space clear of paperwork, "I know you have it hard Kenji-kun, but I wouldn't have given you this job if I didn't think you could do it. You're talented, years ahead of all your peers in fact, but you must also need to learn discipline. There's a lot of good you can do Kenji, not just for the village but for the entire country, and I'm sure that you will rise up to the challenge just like all of your clansmen that came before you."

"…I'm not a Senju. I thought I made that clear enough," the small boy said in a calmer voice. He could feel the trust radiating from the old man making him feel slightly embarrassed.

"Of course, well then I better get back to my own work," the Third said as he walked out of the room.

Kenji sighed then looked at the dessert on his desk, "Wonder what type of pie it is?"

Getting the fork that was placed beside it, he poked the crust.

BAM!

He was thrown backwards on his chair as the pie exploded, coating the room in blueberry filling. All of his finished paperwork had been blasted away.

Whipping pie filling from his face, Kenji glared at the door with all of his hate.

"OLD MAAANNN!"

 **(Scene change)**

"I told you to stop licking your ears," Kenji lightly scolded his friend as the small rabbit tried to lick the remainder of the pie filing off her fur.

Getting everything cleaned up had taken up the majority of his remaining time, and he only had a few minutes to get to his first ever alchemy lecture. He was just glad that Kaguya's bandana was stainproof.

They were just coming down the stairs when they heard rambunctious celebration coming from one end of the corridor.

Giving each other a look, the duo stuck their heads out, and saw the two medical doors swing open.

A large metal table was being pulled, a strange creature that looked like an armadillo combined with a pig was strapped on it with reinforced metal bindings.

"Haha. This little piggy turned out to be really troublesome," one of the people pulling the cart said to the others.

The triangle markings on his face indicated that he was an Inuzuka clan member just like the rest of them.

'Ah, another Inuzuka squad. Looks like they are back from a hunt,' Kenji thought.

"Yeah, Yeah, lets get this over with. Why didn't we just take a piece to prove we killed it instead of luging the whole body through the village," the youngest of the group, about 14, said with a yawn.

The others stopped and gave him a look as if he was stupid.

The only female of the group pinched her nose in frustration, "This idiot."

"Huh? What?"

The first guy shook his head, "Right, this is your first time, so you probably aren't that informed."

Taking the pose of a teacher he held a finger to explain, "As you know something called the Beast Awareness Bill passed right?"

The kid scratched his head trying to remember, "Yeah, a month ago the Hokage suddenly said something like that right. I remember everyone throwing a big fuss."

"Exactly no one knows exactly where these chakra beast, or spirit beasts as others call them, came from. There's a lot of theories about it, from them being mutated animals caused by the Kyuubi's chakra to evil spirits possessing animals. The biggest one right know says it has to do with 'that' day."

"That day? Ah! You mean Heaven's Judgment, the day when all of those thunder bolts light up the sky during the middle of the day."

'I'm sorry everyone, but that was my fault,' Kenji mentally apologized.

"Bingo, reports say that they started to appear right after that event. Only the higher ups know the truth, and their keeping it hush hush."

"But what does this have to do with us luging a 3-ton pig all the way here."

The girl released a growl, "He was getting to that, moron. The Hokage made this place, the Headquarters of the Chakra Beast Association. It's our job to find and exterminate these pests, then we register it with the Association. They can keep track of the chakra beast population to see if there are any serious threats. It's not just here either, it's the entire country, maybe even the world. They have a group of scientists here that study the creatures, and from our reports are able to make books that help others combat them. It might seem like an unimportant task at first but this was given to us especially by Tsume-sama, one of the top Officials to the CBA."

"Why is Tsume-sama only an Official? Shouldn't she be the leader instead?"

The last member of the group who had remained silent shook his head, "Idiot. Do you really think someone like Tsume-sama is suited to be behind a desk a day, being a simple paper pusher."

An arrow stabbed Kenji though the chest.

"As Chicka said, this isn't just around the village, but the entire nation. The head must be up to his ass in paperwork every day. Only a complete fool would take this job."

Another arrow stabbed Kenji.

Chicka spoke up next, "I remember her holding a clan meeting with all of the older clansmen and someone asked her why she didn't become leader. She said, 'Bwahahahah! Me? I'd sooner retire as a shinobi and take up crocheting. You know how much trouble that would be? Naw, I left it to some sucker, their hair will probably go white from stress in a year. Hahahah.'"

A barrage of imaginary arrows hit Kenji, and using the imaginary blood used his finger to write the name of the murder. 'Paperwork… Danzo too.'

"Yeah I guess you're right. That does sound like something she would say."

The first guy remembered their purpose, "Right, we need to register the kill to the association. Since they already have this chakra beast in their records, they'll return it to us and then we can go to Moon Artifacts and sell it. Do all of you guy have your membership cards."

"Yes."

"Yeah."

"…I don't have one."

"…This guy seriously. It's fine I guess, you can apply for membership over there. Remember to always carry it with you, otherwise you can't even enter the shop."

Kenji watched them turn a corner into another hallway.

"Akame?"

The small rabbit turned to give the depressed boy her full attention.

"I really hate this job."

She placed a paw on his shoulder, consoling him.

With a downward head Kenji began to exit the large building, and off to his first lecture as a teacher.

* * *

 **A/N: Done. It's a short chapter.**

 **I hope I was able to clear a couple of questions. This is my take in fixing the shinobi system and such since the Manga and Anime didn't go into too much detail.**

 **One of the things that shocked me was that there were 17 clans in the village. Shocker right.**

 **I'm also guessing that getting healed by a medical nin cost more than visiting a regular doctor, so this was my way of explaining that. After all medics still need to eat.**

 **I'll get into fixing other problems like these in future chapters so be patient.**

 **What do you think of Kenji's new position? It's mostly paperwork though, and he will rarely leave the village except for an emergency. He is more of a figure head to be honest.**

 **I'll be making more time skips in order to speed up the story and get to the beginning of the anime.**

 **I'll be introducing more Xianxia elements to those that were curious.**


	19. Devlish Schemes

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references mentioned in this fanfic.**

 **Kenji will go full blown Demon Merchant in this chapter. You have been warned.**

 **Chapter 19**

"Here, you can have the rest of my Takoyaki," Kenji offered as he held the half empty plate of octopus balls to Akame.

The small rabbit's ears perked up as she devoured the food in seconds.

Kenji smiled slightly as he wiped away the seaweed flakes off her mouth.

The duo was standing outside a small shop eating lunch. They were having a late lunch since the Hokage had ruined his work and he had to do it all over again.

Still he decided to forgive the old man, since he had given him such a useful jutsu.

"Mmm. The scroll says that it splits the chakra in half, but that seems like such a waste. I wonder if I could create an item to improve the effects. Maybe a talisman that makes clones harder to dispel," he wondered as he read the open scroll in his hands.

Of course, he had tried to make sentient clones with talisman in the past, but they were all failures. He never could figure out the right wording to replicate the jutsu, so he had been putting it off till now.

"Hm? There's a note that says yin chakra is used to create the shell of the clone while yang chakra fuels it. That's interesting. My Earth clones work by using dirt as a medium for my chakra. This would allow spiritual energy in yin chakra to transfer memories back to the user. A body of yin with the energy of yang. This could help me with 'that'."

Putting his hands in a cross seal just like the scroll indicated, he immediately felt his reserves cut in half. A puff of smoke appeared in front of him.

 **Chakra: Genin**

 **Chakra Points: 2,075/ 4,150**

Standing there was a perfect copy of him except without Akame.

"This is rather interesting isn't it," the clone told his creator as he took the bandages off his face.

"I couldn't agree more," Kenji commented as he handed the clone a kunai.

The clone accepted it and tried to cut the pink bandana.

Riippp

"Looks like the effects of upgraded equipment doesn't transfer over," the copy said holding up the ripped bandana.

The clone then handed Kenji one of his own kunai.

Kenji took it to see if he could upgrade it, but no information came, "Interesting, looks like I can't upgrade it either. Might be because it is made up of pure chakra. What about you, can you use our ability?"

The clone shook his head, "No. I tried it on your kunai but nothing happened. Looks like you are the only one that can use it."

The two gave each other evil grins.

"Good, last thing we want is for someone else to have this ability."

"Right, well then, I'll head to the shop to see how things are going," the clone announced but a hand from Kenji made him stop.

"I have a better idea."

 **(Scene change)**

 **3:28 PM**

A gathering of 10 people looked at the clock with annoyed looks.

They were in a brightly lit room without any windows. The room was made to look like a giant octagon with white stone walls. In the center of the room was a 10-foot-tall furnace in the shape of giant egg made of copper, three sturdy legs holding it a foot of the ground. The ceiling was high, at least 30 feet, and there was a ventilation shaft above the furnace to let out the smoke.

 **3:30 PM**

"When is he going to get here? It's already been half an hour. Shouldn't the teacher be the first to arrive?" a woman from the group said as she scowled at the clock hanging on the wall.

Just as she said that, the large front door opened, and two cute looking children walked inside, pushing in a cart with a sheet on it.

Those inside wondered why they appeared to have a pink bandana over their eyes, but tactful decided from asking such a rude question.

"Oh? You guys are early," one of them said.

She gave him an irritated look, "It's already 3:30. You're late!"

The two looked at each other and turned to the clock on the wall.

One of them walked closer to the clock to inspected it, then he used his finger to turn back the minute hand until it said 3:00.

The child gave his counterpart a thumbs up.

The other boy looked back the group with a sarcastic smile, "Really? Seems to me I'm right on time."

The students looked incredulous at their teacher.

Clapping his hands together Kenji spoke, "Right, enough fooling around. I've been hired to teach a group of people the art of alchemy. Whether this applies to you is entirely dependent on how well you perform in this class. If I find you lacking then I will not hesitate to kick you out and take someone new. Am I understood?"

The group stood ramrod as they answered, "Yes, Sensei!"

"I don't care what you call me outside but during these class you will refer to me as Master or Yamamoto-sama. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Master."

"Good, then I will start. Take a seat, it doesn't matter where?" Kenji said as his clone placed pillows in front of the furnace in an arc.

The ten students all took their seats however there was an eleventh seat. This was Akame's seat. She too would learn the art of alchemy.

The other students gave her questioning looks but since Kenji hadn't said anything, they turned back to the boy.

Kenji looked at the group of assembled people. It was a mixture of different people since this was a test batch. The Hokage and him had chosen people from different background to see what type of people were capable of learning. As such, these people were made up of both men and women, civilians and shinobi, and ages of all types.

Standing in the group Kenji had immediately noticed Konoha's infamous Snake Mistress, Anko Mitarashi standing front and center with a excited grin. Also in the group was a Hyuga, a Nara, a Yamanaka, and a Akimichi. Those had all been the Hokage's choices. Kenji's choices had consisted of civilian members, two of which belonged to the families of the Civilian Council.

"Right can anyone tell me what alchemy is?" Kenji questioned them as his clone pulled a chalk board and began to write things on it.

They looked hesitantly at each other, but finally a civilian girl nervously raised her hand.

"Megumi, right? Tell me what you know?"

"Ah. Isn't it you know-hmm… mixing thing into a pot to create stuff, like those in fantasy books," she finished with a flushed expression.

"I know which books you are talking about, it would be hard not to," Kenji said as he took out one of those books from his kimono and held it up for everyone to see, then turned it to the back cover that had a black and white picture of him.

As Yukiko had predicted, the books were a massive hit. With careful planning and expert marketing, they were able to pique the interest of many in the village. These books were especially popular with civilians since many of the protagonist were those that came from humble beginnings and rose up to defy the worlds that was built by nobles and such. The martial arts and fighting interested the men, while the romance and political aspect appealed to the women. Currently there were five series of novels out on the market, with their respective sequels already in the publisher's hands to be released when the time was right.

"And before you ask yes, I do autographs, but only for 10 Ryo."

Turning to the chalk board he picked up a piece of chalk and added some things. "Now as I was saying, yes, this is the exact type of alchemy found in my books. However I would like to say this now, but all of the ingredients mentioned in the books are fictional and you should never attempt to replicate it without supervision. I still recommend you buy a book just to familiarizes yourself with the subject though," he advised as he held up the book high in the air.

The class looked with deadpanned eyes at the blatant show of self-promotion.

"Ahem, moving on. Now I'll begin by explaining exactly what Alchemy is. In simple terms, alchemy is the manipulation of energy found in objects to create miracle drugs," Kenji stated while his clone pulled away the sheet to reveal different types of alchemy ingredients.

The students recognized a few ingredients like ginger, sage and worm wood, but the rest were an unknown. There seemed to be a dried-up mushroom that had a moaning face on it, as well as a fruit that looked like a pomegranate only blue. Animal body parts such as horns, teeth, claws, and hair also littered the table. Pouches filled with different colored powders also caught the attention of many.

Picking up the ginger and the mushroom in both hands he went on, "As I mentioned, these ingredients can range from a wide variety of objects. Things as simple as this ginger to the dried-up corpse of a chakra beast called the Smiling Mushroom. Hiding inside of these ingredients is a hidden energy and it is our job as alchemists to bring it out, in the form of pills, potions, and elixirs. All of you understand so far?"

"Yes, Master," they said as one.

"Good, now gather around and look closely, this is what pill refining looks like," Kenji announced as he opened the furnace door.

They saw red and yellow flames dancing on the inside of the furnace, yet they felt no heat coming off of it.

Kenji threw in the ginger and Smiling Mushroom corpse, then he added some stems of worm wood and a couple of animal teeth. As soon as they touched the flames, they were burned to ashes but continued to float suspended in the air.

Kenji then went through different hand gestures none of which belonged to the twelve hand seals, but resembled those made by monks and priest when they were offering prayers.

The class watched as the flames would either grow larger or smaller with every gesture, sometimes changing colors. The pile of ash would also move almost as if guided by an invisible hand. It was as if the very flames themselves were molding the ash pile just like potter molded clay.

With one final upward gesture the inside of the furnace gave off a blinding golden light, causing all of those watching to momentarily go blind.

"Ah, fuck, my eyes!"

They rubbed their eyes to get rid off the spots in their vision.

Then they witnessed as 11 pills about 1mm in size floated out of the furnace and into Kenji's awaiting hand, their glossy surface made them look like tiny pearls.

"Woah."

Kenji handed one to each of the students except Akame.

"This is a (low) body purifying pill. They are my gift to you so take them. You will find that your body will feel cleaner as a result."

Hesitantly they all took the pills. The clone secretly took out a timer.

Several seconds passed by without result.

"I don't feel-urk"

They collapsed on the ground and began to spit out black tar.

The clone showed Kenji the timer, "Oh, not bad."

Kenji watched them for several minutes before making a signal to his clone. "You guys sure made a mess. Alright then, first assignment, clean up this entire room. I want it spotless. I want it so clean that you can eat off the floor, in fact you might just do that."

The pile of groaning students watched as the clone came back with cleaning supplies.

"If you manage to clean it all before the time is up then I'll go over some of the more common ingredients used in alchemy."

With that Kenji left his clone to supervise the students, while he took a seat on one of the pillows.

He got into a lotus position and began to meditate.

With every breath he took the world around him grew quitter until all he heard was silence.

A white diagram began to appear in his mind, lines of all different lengths and thickness appeared. Some were curved while others had sharp corners. Together they formed a rough design of a rabbit head inside of an octagon.

Each corner of the octagon lit up with a blue light. With every breath he took the line grew.

With every inhale he could feel energy in his surroundings be pulled into him. When he exhaled, he mixed it with his own energy and fed the diagram a little more, carefully tracing the white lines with surgical precision.

His abdomen tightened as they felt the build up of chakra in his stomach.

When the diagram was half-lit, Kenji was sweating profusely.

At the third-fourths mark, the veins under his skin began to bulge yet Kenji didn't move an inch.

When he was 90% done his body began to give off a large amount of heat.

Finally when the diagram was fully lit Kenji willed it to grow smaller and smaller. His body trembled trying to contain all of that energy from escaping.

Very slowly the energy was condensed into a single point. The result was a golden drop that made its way into his reserves where it joined other droplets to form a golden liquid.

Kenji exhaled a breath from his mouth, that came out as super-heated steam. His face was flushed as a result of the heat he was giving off.

 **Chakra: Genin**

 **Chakra Points: 1,812 /4,150**

 **Soul Point: 21**

Looking at the clock he noticed that an hour had gone by.

'The time to gather one soul point is getting shorter. I wonder if I can shorten it to only a few minutes,' the small boy thought deeply, remembering when it used to take him 7 hours.

Soul Points, the name that he had given to this strange new energy in his body.

He had first noticed the emergence of this energy when he was in his cell. He had meditating like usual when he noticed an anomaly in his chakra system. A normal person would have completely missed it but someone like Kenji, who had perfect chakra and a hyper sensitive awareness of his chakra system was able to notice it almost instantly.

This energy appeared as tiny white fragments that floated around his chakra pathways, just like how white blood cells tended to float in blood vessels.

From his observations it wasn't anything harmful, but he kept a close eye on it anyways.

He noticed that when he entered Sage Mode this mysterious energy would act strangely. These flakes of energy could absorb nature energy for a small time and then release it slowly, therefore extending the time limit of his Sage Mode.

When he was finally freed, he dedicated at least an hour every night to study this new phenomenon.

Kenji had asked Kaguya if this was her doing, but the Rabbit Goddess admitted that even she didn't know what it was.

Then a crazy idea had appeared in his head, 'I wonder what would happen if I gather these little fragments into something bigger?'

This simple thought plagued his mind for days before he finally gave in and decided to come up with a way to gather the white flakes.

He tried a number of different ways, but nothing ever seemed to work.

When he asked Kaguya for help, she readily agreed as she too had been rather curious. It took days of trial and error but they had finally created a method to capture the energy in Kenji's chakra and condense it into a single point.

The Cultivation Formula.

This ridiculous sounding name had come from Kaguya herself. Kenji thought it was stupid but knew better than to state otherwise, especially when the calm goddess looked so proud of her work.

The Cultivation Formula was a product of their blood, sweat, and tears (all Kenji's).

In theory it was rather simple, you just molded chakra to create a talisman inside of your body. Once the talisman diagram was fully formed all you needed was to make it smaller and smaller, at which point it would turn into a golden liquid.

That was in theory anyways, it was only in practice that a number of problems arose. For instance, the amount of chakra points needed to create just a single drop was equal to 1,000 Chakra Points. You also couldn't lose your concentration for even a second or else the diagram would disappear, and all of the chakra gathered would be wasted.

There was also a heating problem. As most things in nature, the more pressure you apply to something the hotter it becomes, and chakra was no different. The result of condensing that much chakra into a single point meant that the body's temperature rose astronomically, up to the point that Kenji would sometimes pass out from heat strokes during the first few tries. It was only thanks to his enhanced body durability that he didn't set his insides on fire.

All in all, Kenji felt that the payout was too little compared to all the effort and pain he had to suffer for a measly drop. The only reason why he even bothered with doing it was because he noticed that his vision problem had improved slightly ever since he started… well that and Kaguya had promised him a gift if he reached 100 Soul Points.

Glancing at his 'students' he saw his clone drawing a picture of what looked like a dandelion fluff with a cat face on the chalk board.

"-and while the body of the fluff-fluff is easy to damage all of it's internal organs are covered in a protective mesh comprised of collagen. The kidneys hold cleansing properties and can be eating as is to expel poisons or combined with other ingredients to make a stronger cure."

One of the students raised their hands, "How do you know all of this?"

"With trail and error," the clone said in a emotionless voice.

"I-I see. I'm sorry," the boy said apologetically.

"That being said, I would like to make one thing clear. Alchemy is a newly created branch of science and therefore not much is known yet. Even I who has experiment extensively do not everything. If you want to pursue the path of an Alchemist, then you must be willing to put your mind and body in harms way to discover new things. At times you will be forced to eat disgusting ingredients just to find out what it does."

"Isn't there a simpler way?"

"Of course, I recommend teaching a class and making the students do it," the clone finished as it began to toss a packet of paper work at them, "This packet lists 30 of the most common alchemy ingredients and a short description of what they do. Memorize it because I will be testing you next time. A quick reminder, classes are Monday and Thursday from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. You can all leave now, I'm tired of looking at your faces."

The clone made shooing motion with his hands, irritating the group further.

The group of students exited the room looking through their homework packet.

Kenji walked to his clone now that they were all gone. "Looks like I might actually have a talent for teaching after all."

"Of course, it's us we're talking about," the clone said with a smile.

Kenji's face then took a serious tone, "Did everything go as planned."

The double gave smug grin, "Obviously."

"Perfect," the small boy said as they shared identical grins.

"Hehehahahaahaa-MwahahahaHAHAHA!"

The two laughed manically as their scheme.

It was so simple. While the Hokage had deemed all information taught to be kept secret for the time being, Kenji knew that the information would eventual be leaked, in fact he was counting on it. It would be foolish to think that people would just do as they are told afterall, especially with people like Danzo and Orichimaru in the world, so he made plans for the inevitable future.

He would continue to teach this class and in doing so reveal more and more of his secrets, however that was only on the surface.

For example, while it was true that the Puff-Puff's liver could indeed be used for detoxification, he purposely left out that its skin could also be used to make a powerful pill that could increase chakra reserves. Not only that, they were a level 0 chakra beast that could even be beaten by normal civilians carrying sticks. Their only advantage was being cute.

People, as was their nature, would be overcome with greed and hunt the adorable Puff-Puffs excessively for their liver and when they brought the corpses to Kenji for dismantling, he would be able to take the skin for himself without paying a single extra ryo.

This was done to all of the chakra beasts' ingredients not just the Puff-Puff.

As for the other ingredients, well their value on the market would rise tremendously once it was known that they had beneficial properties. The blue pomegranate for example was a rare and mystical ingredient that could only be found in two places. A small province in the south-western part of the Land of Fire and right here in this village, both of which were owned by Kenji.

The Daimyo, as thanks for healing his wife, had gifted Kenji with his very own land, and while he hadn't been their yet, Akame had inspected the land with her shadow travel. His land was a green forested area with many tall mountains that reached the clouds.

She had found pomegranate trees and various medicinal herbs growing on the side of a mountains. In fact, he had started a minor farming operation at the very top of these mountain tops. He placed a large number of protective talismans around the area to stop theft and if that wasn't enough he made Akame transport a Shrine of Kaguya so that she could keep a close eye on it. She promised to protect his land as an apology for getting him arrested.

As for the more common ones like ginger and sage, Kenji had bought a large number of farms that already grew them beforehand using the money he received from the Daimyo.

"HA- *Cough* *Cough* *Cough*."

The two Kenji's began to cough as a result of two much laughing.

"Cough. Ouch, this better not give me a sore throat," Kenji said grabbing his throat.

"Ah, but it's worth it," the clone said doing the same, "we are turning things into gold after all. Isn't that every alchemist's dream?"

"How right you are me," Kenji agreed at the sage words coming from himself.

"Don't worry about the paperwork too much either, us clones will handle it from now on," the clone said with a bright smile and a thumbs up.

'As expected of my clones, they now the importance of responsibility,' the small boy thought as he looked at his clone with the eyes of someone seeing a heroic figure from legend.

 **(Scene break)**

"Haaaaa~ I really needed this," Kenji said as he soaked all the way up to his neck in the hot water.

He had his hair loose and his face had the magenta lines and purple crescent moon for all to see.

A wooden bucket floated nearby with a pot of tea and some boiled eggs.

"I must agree," said his companion as she relaxed in the soothing water, letting all of the stress melt away.

"I've been so busy that I rarely get the chance to visit a hot spring in the real world, I thank you My Lady," Kenji told the Rabbit Goddess that was also enjoying the bath.

Currently she was in her giant form, since shapeshifting her form took energy and she wanted to relax. They were in his mindscape so Kaguya had designed this hot spring to relax from time to time.

Well he said hot spring but in reality, it could not be considered as such. For instance, they were currently on top of a giant mountain whose height reached past the clouds. It looked like the top of it had been completely cut away with a giant blade leaving it perfectly smooth, then the middle had been dug out and filled with water. Kenji suspected that it was actually a volcano rather than a mountain since the water was always hot, as expected of a Goddess.

The volcanic spring was wide enough for even Kaguya to full stretch out if she wanted to, and while she did exactly that, Kenji was peacefully soaking inside of a giant wooden bucket the size of an Olympic sized pool. It floated just above the water's surface moving every so often as a result of Kaguya who caused tidal waves even the smallest of gestures.

'They're big,' Kenji thought as he stared at the two mounds of milky flesh that floated on the water's surface. Normally they couldn't be scene very well since Kaguya tended to wear baggy kimonos, but Kenji was sure that they would be C-cup borderline D-cup when compared to normal sized women. Not that he cared very much since he had yet to reach puberty and things of sexual nature were generally dismissed by him.

"You have been working hard as my Advisor Kenji," the Goddess said as she took a giant hand towel and wiped the sweat on her brow.

"Uuurggh," Kenji moaned as he sunk into the water even more, "The village has been hectic ever since the emergence of the chakra beasts, but it looks like people are finally starting to adapt. As expected of a village full of shinobi, even the civilians are quick to adjust to the weird."

"Once again I apologize," Kaguya said as she inclined her head in his direction, involuntarily making his tub rock from the waves it created, "I acted hastily, and it has caused you unneeded problems."

It was just as she said, she had not put great thought when she had decided to make more chakra beasts.

The more Kenji got to now her, the more prevalent her flaws became. Her biggest was that despite always maintaining a calm and confident façade, Kaguya was absolutely horrible in planning, or rather she was one of those people that only say the big picture.

It should have been obvious in retrospect. Kaguya had always been someone of great power or high standing. Back when she had first arrived, she had been the Daimyo's concubine, so she had rarely needed to manage anything. There had always been servants at her beck and call if she ever needed anything, and for the most part she was fine in letting the humans do things on their own.

When she obtained the power of the chakra fruit, this mindset only got worse.

When Kenji had asked her about this, she always said that she didn't want to be viewed as a tyrant, which was true but only half. The real reason was that she didn't know the first thing about being a ruler other than asking for stuff. She had no understanding of farming, cleaning, or even basic life skills. In other words, she was a spoiled Noble with zero work experience.

The only reason why she had let a small number of people out of the Infinite Tsukuyomi was because she needed servants, and only enough for a small village. If she had any real skills in ruling than she could have created an entire kingdom and trained them to defend against her clansmen but instead she had decided to create the White Zetsus.

It wasn't entirely her fault though; her clan weren't exactly the most caring of people. If they wanted something then they just took it, with hardly anyone being able to stop them. If anyone got in their way, then they just need to flex their power, maybe blow up a country or two, and usually 10/10 of the time that would be enough. There was no need to come up with complicated plans to get their way since Plan A rarely failed.

That wasn't to say that she was stupid, in fact it was the exact opposite. She was able to pick up knew things in seconds, it took her only a couple of days to learn everything that Kenji knew about the world after all, even complicated things that she had never seen before like chemistry or arithmetic's.

However, because she had never experience failure or strife, she was unable to completely understand people.

One of her favorite past times in fact was watching Kenji interact with others, something that even the small boy didn't even know about. And while he was far from what you would consider a good role model or even a decent human being, Kaguya began to understand humans a little better.

Kenji on the other hand couldn't say he was entirely unhappy about their relationship.

Sure he was little more than a goffer or servant at this point with Kaguya making vague request here and there, but he honestly felt purpose in his life. While owning a shop would always be his dream there were times when even he craved the occasional thrill, and nothing was more thrilling than creating plans after plans to achieve some task.

In some way, the two were perfect for each other, with Kaguya making requests and Kenji making the plans to achieve the desired goal.

"It's fine," the merchant said waving her off for the hundredth time, "I was able to turn it around for our benefit so everything worked out. Although I would appreciate greatly if you were to warn me next time My Lady."

"…"

"Did it just get colder," Kenji said out loud as he felt a sudden chill run through him.

"How _has_ your efforts to strengthen the humans gone?" she said conjuring one of the sake bottle that Kenji had presented as an offering.

Kenji got into a pensive look, "It is still to early to tell but I feel that thing are going well. The Chakra Beast Association, although new, have been able to make great progress in combating the ever-growing number of chakra beasts. As a whole they have been able to categorizes about 43 new species without my help bringing the number up to 354. With the new equipment that I sell to them, I've been able to make quite a profit too. Although despite my best efforts they have not fired me, I mean that has to be clear abuse of power, yet they ignore it like nothing!"

"Are you well?"

"Ahem, I apologize for that. As I was saying, they are steadily getting used to their new job. Currently we have 52 researchers and 780 field members comprised of shinobi and the Daimyo's elite soldiers. A monthly expedition into the Forest of Death will also begin in an effort to reclaim the lost training ground. Chances are that I will be tasked with leading this group along with the other head officials," Kenji predicted biting his nail with a small amount of worry.

The Forest of Death had become the most dangerous place in the entire Land of Fire, beating the acid lakes in the west by a large margin.

The area had almost become unrecognizable as a result of the new animals and vegetation. Around a quarter of the chakra beasts in the area had already reached Level 2. Worse was that some had intelligent minds that didn't lose out to humans, like the blue gorillas that dominated the north of the forest. They could create low grade armor and weapons from animal bones and wood.

Kenji wouldn't be surprised if a Level 3 were to immerge in a couple of years.

And if it wasn't troublesome enough, Kenji himself had a strange effect on them.

In simplified terms, he was crack to them.

Perhaps it was some instinctual part in their brain, since the chakra dust that changed them had originally come from Kenji, but almost 70% of the time they would attack him on sight. The other 30% was split evenly in either running away or submitting to him, although this typically only applied to Level 0 Chakra Beasts.

"Although I'm happy to say that the villagers have gotten used to seeing the occasional chakra beasts. Some have even started to keep them as pets, despite it being illegal. The Puff-Puff and the Fire Ferret being the most popular so far."

Another thing to note was that Kaguya had a horribly sense of naming. The Puff-Puff being the clear example, and since she had already named about half her creations Kenji had no choice but name the rest to stop her.

Seriously, she had the naming sense of someone infected with eight-grade syndrome. Although the names that the CBA and the villagers gave them weren't much better, so maybe it was him that was weird.

"We will be close to finishing the first edition of the chakra beast handbook next week. It lists the different strengths and weaknesses of different chakra beast as well as the best tactics when fighting them. Hopefully with this the number of casualties will go down too."

"It really is a shame," Kaguya said when she thought of the loss of life, even it was just humans.

"Well, no one ever said change was pretty. Those that survive will be stronger as a result though, so their sacrifices won't be in vain," Kenji said trying to reassure her as well as himself.

Perhaps it was just wishful thinking but Kaguya hoped that was the case.

"Now as you suggested, I have begun to teach others the way of pill refining and alchemy. Although normally they would be unable to make any without one of my special pill furnaces it is only a matter of time. Plants and different materials have started to appear in the world and the way things are, they would have eventual discovered the art of alchemy in 20 or something years even without my chakra dust to act as an enhancer."

"Right now, nobody knows much about the subject other than what they have read in my books but that will soon change. My goal is for people to start experimenting on their own, and make brand new recipes, that way it's not just me that's putting in the work," Kenji spoke his intentions.

Danzo, Orochimaru, and the other nations would begin their own study in the subject once they find out it was possible. Once the time was right, Kenji would then steal their recipes for himself and save himself the time and effort it took to develop them. Why risk his life to create more when his enemies would do it for him? No doubt Danzo already had plans to steal the information from one of his students to make some for himself. But that was fine, since after he killed Danzo those recipes would be his, cause make no mistake, that one eyed hawk was going down.

Kaguya raised a finger to her chin in thought, "Is that why you deliberately bought almost all of the ingredients on the market that were mentioned inside that packet you gave your pupils?"

"How astute of you My Lady. Yes, once they figure out that the ingredients mentioned in the packet were purchased in large amounts, they will suspect one of their own to have leaked the information to an outside party and with no way of knowing the identity of the culprit they will be forced to leak the information themselves to their respective superiors. The clansmen will go to their Clan Head for help, while the civilians will go to their parents or other powerful figures. Never would they think that it was actually me."

'Plus with this, it will result in a sudden spike in prices, making my farms all the more valuable.'

"You truly are meticulous in your goals Kenji," Kaguya compliment, impressed at his scheme, "You appear to be enjoying yourself."

He shrugged his shoulders, "I have to admit I haven't had this much fun in a while. And what of yourself My Lady, anything I should be aware of?"

"Nothing to speak of I'm afraid. I've been traveling the world in my spare time, creating new creature here and there, observing the humans from time to time," she said casually as she waved her hand over the water's surface making giant droplets float in the air. These droplets then took the shape of different chakra beasts. When she waved her hand again a blue dust was scattered, and the water creatures gained color.

In less time than it took for Kenji to sip his tea, she had created over 200 chakra beasts using nothing but her power and the chakra dust that Kenji provided.

The small merchant would give her one thing, she had quite the artistic eye.

The chakra beasts disappeared with another hand wave, no doubt they would be born on Earth shortly.

"Kenji, I am in need of more of chakra dust."

Kenji put on a puzzled look, "Already? You should still have plenty from the amount you took during my genin exam."

"I do not wish to bore you with the details, but I too have devised a way to strengthen the humans. Unfortunately, it requires a large amount of energy and chakra dust?" she admitted, causing that chilling filling to run up Kenji's spin again.

In a flash the laid-back attitude was erased, and Kenji stared up at the giant Goddess with a serious frown, "Strengthen how?"

Kaguya snapped her fingers and the water rose once more. This time however it formed a 3D layout of what appeared to be a labyrinth with numerous chambers. The corridors twisted in various directions and the walls and rooms were lined with all manner of deadly traps.

"I took inspiration from your novels and created Ancient Ruins," she boldly stated, dismissing Kenji's sharp intake of air. "No need to concern yourself with them, they are well hidden, and are guarded by my more dangerous creatures."

'Wait? They?' "How many have you created so far?"

"27 ruins have been created thus far, scattered all over the entire Elemental Nations."

"Oh dear."

"Which brings me to my next point. I wish for you to make an appropriate reward for those that choose to challenge these ruins. Perhaps an Earth Grade Artifact or two," she said going into full blown dungeon master.

Slowly Kenji submerged completely into the water in a futile attempt to drown himself in his own mind.

* * *

 **A/N: Done. (:**

 **Happy New Years everyone!**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **A few things I would like to clarify to start.**

 **First, the Alchemy and Chakra Beast Association. I won't right too much about them, most chapter will be about Kenji managing his shop. The rest of the time just think that a clone is doing the work in the background. The only times I will mention them is if there is an arc concerning them, like if he was tasked with exploring an 'Ancient Rune'/ Dungeon or creating some powerful pill.**

 **Next, the Soul Point system. Right now you can just ignore it, it won't appear to often. Just think of the soul drops as batteries that can be charged with Nature chakra that Kenji can use to enter Sage Mode any time he wants.**

 **Did you like the method of cultivation? I'm sure some Wuxia fans have been curious when he would get it. I'm still working out the kinks so please be patient.**

 **I hope my logic concerning Kaguya wasn't too weird, it just seemed obvious to me. It's like if you took a Japanese Noble for Ancient times and stuck them in the middle of WW2 and expected them to know what to do.**

 **Should I add more kinship between Kaguya and Kenji or is this enough?**

 **PS: The Puff-Puff look like one of those white dandelion puffs except with an adorable cat face and tail, no legs but they can jump pretty high.**

 **Next chapter will be from the viewpoints of various figures in the elemental nations, and their reaction to everything that has been happening. So stay tuned.**


	20. Interlude 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references mentioned in this fanfic.**

 **I'm glad that so many of you liked the last chapter.**

 **I'll try to include more chapters with Kenji and Kaguya in the future. Maybe have an arc with Kenji leading an expedition into one of these Ancient Runes.**

 **Sadly, this chapter isn't about Kenji. Still I hope you enjoy. I brought back a special character after popular demand.**

 **Chapter 20**

 **(Raikage)**

Caw!

Twitch.

Caw!

Twitch. Twitch

CAW!

"Aaarrrggghhh!"

Crash!

A, the Fourth Raikage of Village Hidden in the Clouds, gritted his teeth in annoyance as he watched that pesky bird fly away from his windowsill.

"I'll get that mangy bird one of these days," he swore under his breath.

Taking a calming breath, he turned back to his desk that was littered with fallen over paperwork from his sudden attack.

He pressed a button on the intercom, "Mabui, bring up another chair and get someone to replace the window."

" _Was it the bird again, sir?"_

"…"

A tired sigh could be heard from the other end, _"I'll send someone right away. I'd also like to inform you that the scouting team has returned."_

"Finally, some good news," the Raikage said, "send them up immediately."

" _Actually sir, they requested to meet you in the research facility. Apparently, they managed to obtain some rather interesting items."_

"Alright, I'll meet them there," was all that A said before he turned to jump out of the window.

" _Wait! Sir, please! We don't have the budge-"_

Crash!

"… _haaaa. I guess I'll order two new windows now."_

 **(Scene change)**

As A walked inside of the building that was used for research, he was greeted by a young man, pale white skin, neatly tied black hair and square glasses in a shinobi uniform.

"A Raikage-sama, I have returned, and I have much to inform you," the man told him.

"It's good to see you safe and sound Taro. Now tell me what you found," A told him clamping a giant hand on the man's shoulder.

The man now known as Taro led A further into the facility until they reached a wide open room, a number of scientist already running around the room franticly looking like headless chickens.

The two shinobi ignored them as they neared an elevated table that had a number of items spread on it.

"It was just as we suspected, these creatures that started to appear isn't just exclusive to the Land of Lightning. Right now, no one knows where these creatures come from, but I was able to find some information on them," Taro said as he adjusted his glasses then picked up a small book from the table and handed it to the confused Raikage.

The book was a simple red hardcover book with the image of a Dragon in a circle eating its own tale.

"Chakra Beast Encyclopedia Vol 1?" A opened the book and saw that it was filled with a number of pictures of strange animals, "What is this?"

Taro took a flyer from the table and showed it to A, "The Leaf Village has dubbed these creature Chakra Beasts. They have made a separate division among their ranks to capture and eliminate them. They call themselves the Chakra Beast Association."

"Fuck. How is it that these tree-huggers are always the first to respond," A cursed, "What else?"

"Well, apparently they have a good understanding of these 'chakra beasts' and have disclosed most of the information to the public. The book lists a number of chakra beast native to the Land of Fire. It shows weakness that people can use to either kill, capture or scare them away," the bespectacled man went on.

The Raikage put on a curious face as he looked through the book in his hands.

He found a picture of what looked like a yellow parakite that was giving off electricity and read the description under his breath, "The Shock Feather, is considered a Level 1 chakra beast. It is easily recognized by it's two large feathers on top of its head that give of occasional sparks. While usually well mannered, when angered they have been known to carry a grudge and play pranks on it's enemy. It likes to enjoys places with high electrical charge such as power lines. Strengths: It's unique body makes it complete shock proof. Weakness: Any form of water will cause it to short-circuit and leave it open to attack. Price: 2,000 Ryo. Water! Of course!"

As soon as he was done, he would order Mabui to hunt that stupid bird with a bucket of water, then he would take his time in torturing that little shit.

"Raikage-sama?" Taro asked worriedly.

"-then I'll strap it to a desk and place a bucket of water over it's head and watch as-Huh? Ah yes, continue?"

The man decided to ignore his leader promise of revenge, "Right, as I was saying I also managed to find out the Leader of the C.B.A., one Kenji Yamamoto," he said taking another book from the table and handed it to A. A clear black and white picture of a young androgynous looking child with bandaged eyes could be seen.

"Huh?"

"This Kenji Yamamoto could be said to be the backbone of this organization. Despite being only 11, testimonies claim that he has been seen able to tame a number of these chakra beasts. In fact, he has his very own collection of chakra beast which act as guards."

Taro gave some photos of the small boy surrounded by different animals to A.

"Could this be the result of some type of Kekkei Genkai? What have you found out about this boy?"

Taro gave A a folder on his finding, "Surprising very little is known about him despite the whole village knowing about his existence. What is known however is that he has close ties with the Land of Fire Daimyo and his wife, as he was seen in their company quite often."

"A bastard of the Daimyo perhaps?"

"It is unknown, but the Daimyo did grant him a Noble title and some land, and his existence only came to be known after the Daimyo's visit to the Leaf where he was followed by a surprising number of other nobles. Our spies in the Fire Capitol have also informed us that the Royal Court have been restless as of late, with talk of the Daimyo finally making plans to name a successor?"

"Interesting? What else?"

"He is still an unknown. Although if rumors are to be believed, then he shares a rather strained relationship with the current Hokage?"

A looked up from the Chakra Beast book, "Oh? Any reason why that might be?"

"No. Although Kenji Yamamoto seems to never leave the village and always has at least 1 Anbu watching over him."

"Perhaps we can use this to create conflict between him and the Leaf?" A thought as he rubbed his chin.

"Perhaps. It might be in our best interest for him to see us in a good light," Taro added.

A looked curious, "Why is that?"

Taro didn't say anything, instead he turned to the table and took an ordinary looking kunai, before he threw it at one of the metal walls in the room.

The room they were in was lined with 6-inch steel plates, yet the kunai punched a hole through it as if where made of rice paper.

Taro went and returned the Kunai and handed it to the Raikage that was looking at it with no small amount of shock.

"What in the hell?"

"Despite being the Leader of the C.B.A. Kenji Yamamoto operates a private shop in the village. While I was unable to enter it on account of my visitor's pass, an uncle of mine that lives in the village was able to go in. Apparently, you need a special membership to even be allowed to enter his territory. The name of the shop is 'Lunar Artifacts' and it's the secret behind many of the rising shinobi in the Leaf."

A was worried about that. Lately a number of Leaf shinobi had began to make names for themselves, the Inuzuka clan being the chief among them. He had heard about how their Clan Head, the infamous Hurricane Wolf, had been able to drill a hole through an entire mountain in only seconds and reduce entire forest into splinter. 'So this is where their sudden source of power came from?'

"My Uncle's membership wasn't high enough to see the full extent of their stock, but he was able to see the first two floors. He managed to purchase quite a few of their wares for us to study."

A looked at the assembly of tools on the table and picked up what looked like a normal metal ring. It didn't look anything special just a common ring you could by anywhere for 50 ryo.

Taro saw the ring and chose to explain, "If I remember correctly, that should be a 'Chastity Ring' I saw quite a few of them being worn by women and clan member in the village. Apparently, it stops any unwanted sexual advancements."

Now that got the Raikage's attention.

Inspecting the simple ring he brought it to his index finger and was only slightly surprised when the ring grew to fit his finger. "Ho? Does this actually work? Taro try coming at me?"

The sound of a broken record could be heard in the lab at the Raikage's sudden request.

All noise had seized as the scientist had stopped their busy work to look at what the young man would do next.

Taro gulped. "What?"

The Raikage got into a sumo wrestler stance with wide open hands, "I said come at me. With the thought of sexual intentions. If this ring actually does work, then this could mean that the Leaf Village's Clans have been able to find a solution to bloodline theft. So, come at me?"

Taro looked as if he was a second to throwing up blood, when he turned to look for help, all of the scientist avoided his gaze.

"P-perhaps someone else would be more appropriate Raikage-sama. I think Mabui would be good."

"Nonsense, we are both men, no need to feel embarrassed," the Raikage said as he grew closer.

'No, that exactly why it's weird!' the young man shouted in his head.

"If you aren't coming, I'm going to you," A declared as he rushed at Taro intent of grabbing him in an embrace.

What Taro had failed to mention was that he too was wearing a chastity ring.

The second that the Raikage's fingers brushed the tip of Taro's clothes, he was pulled off his feet and launched backwards with the force of a cannonball.

Crash!

A's body slid off the wall as his body was clad in electrical current.

'What is this? It looks like lightning, but it doesn't give off the same feeling. I'm flooding my body with lightning chakra but that doesn't help in the slightest,' the large man said as he felt the electricity from the ring numb his body.

"Raikage-sama!"

The group of scientist and Taro rushed to his side in worry.

A however waved them off as he got back to his feet. Even if his body was slightly numb that wasn't enough to put his down.

Taro stepped back, "I forgot to mention Raikage-sama that the rings can be made invisible too." He demonstrated by making a ring appear on his finger identical to the one on the Raikage was wearing. "From the description the shop gave my Uncle, it seems not even severing the hand can get rid of the effects."

The Raikage took off the ring and gave it another appraising look, "Amazing. And you say that your Uncle was only allowed to buy what was common." 'If things like this are becoming common in the Leaf then just how powerful have they gotten during this time.'

The black-haired man now that he was sure wasn't going to be assaulted again stepped a little close, "Yes. There are apparently 7 different levels of permission available, with items getting better and more expensive the higher you go. They even say that the shop sells weapons on the level of those wielded by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."

"What?" A shouted, "When did Konoha gain such a skilled weaponsmith?!"

Taro raised his hands to calm the large man, "The employees claim that everything is hand made by the shops owner, Kenji Yamamoto. Unfortunately, my Uncle couldn't see any of these weapons as he only had access to the first two floors."

"Amazing? So the Leaf was hiding this kind of thing were they?" A rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he tried to device a way to gain some of these weapons for his village.

"There is more I'm afraid, but if you wish to understand things better, I suggest you read this," the Kumo shinobi said as he handed the Raikage the book from before.

"The Immortal Sword?" A said raising an eyebrow, "You want me to read a fantasy novel?"

"it's more than just a novel sir. This was written by Kenji Yamamoto, and it has a surprising amount of hidden information inside. For example it talks about chakra beasts, although it says demonic beasts in the story, and that they can be tamed or used for something called Alchemy. It also talks of mystical weapons called Spirit Artifacts that strangely resemble some of the items that are sold in his shop," Taro said, quick to defend the book. It didn't help that he had read the books on the way home and gotten hooked like a wide majority of the people from the Land of Fire.

"I see," A made a mental note to read the book later, "Did you find any weakness that we could use against this Kenji?"

Taro looked hesitant but answered anyway, "Only one that I have seen I'm afraid."

He took the folder and flipped to some pages to show Kenji and some fat child seating outside of some shop eating together.

"His only friend seems to be a genin who calls himself 'Master Shu', real name is unknown. From the few interactions I have seen they seem to be as close as brother and the two are currently living in the same house."

"So we just need to get a hold of this kid, huh?"

"It's not so simple I'm afraid Raikage-sama. I tried to find as much as possible about this 'Master Shu' but whoever was in charge was very thorough in erasing anything about his past. As far as the village is concerned, he just appeared one day and took their genin test. I tried to ask about him from his fellow genin, but no one was willing to spill anything. Although everyone I asked did agree on one thing."

"Oh, what was that?"

"They said that he was the scariest person they ever saw and hoped to never have him as an enemy. While the events of their genin exam aren't known, there are rumors that say that this Shu character sent over 200 of his fellow graduates to the hospital with grievous wounds. Even killed one of his own when they didn't follow his orders, if the rumors are to be believed. Again, these are only rumors, but it is certain that whatever he did during the exam it must have been enough to scare his fellow genin into silence and cause the higher ups to cover everything up."

A frowned as he heard this, the picture suddenly took a darker appearance in his eyes. The fat child's fox like eyes were almost giving off a sinister look now.

"His fellow graduates have conned the moniker of 'Dog of War' for him, out of his ruthless nature."

"'Dog of War' huh?" the Raikage said casually. 'Damn. That's a cool name too.' "Add him to our Bingo book, I want it to be known that I want him brought here alive."

A's mind was a mess of thought as Taro showed him the other items.

(Orochimaru)

The famed Snake Sannin had a wide unsettling smile on his face as he sat on his throne, a book in his hand.

The front cover could be seen from the low light. It had the picture of a beautiful short sword covered in some type of golden aura, the words 'The Immortal Sword,' printed at the very top.

"Kukuku. What a fascinating story," the pale faced man said.

It had not been that long ago that his loyal little spy in the Leaf Village had informed him of everything that had been happening inside.

"Kenji Yamamoto, or rather Senju, just where were you hiding to escape everyone's eyes," he spoke out loud, wondering exactly how this child had been able to remain hidden until now.

Kabuto, his loyal minion, was able to get a copy of the original DNA results that showed the young boy to be a Senju. He even managed to get some video-feed of the young boy performing some Mokuton during his genin exam. The sheer power that was displayed was enough to send a pleasant shiver up his spine.

His curiosity was running at an all time high with the sudden appearance of these Chakra Beasts as the Leaf had taken to calling them, but now it was almost unbearable.

A new toy had appeared before his eyes.

He had used all of his contact in the village to acquire as much information on the boy as possible, and what he found was astounding.

He gripped the book tighter in his hand. Such amazing new things were appearing lately. This just further convinced him that his path to achieve immortality was correct. After all, if he died then how could he experience all of these new wonderful things.

From everything he had found, Orochimaru was half-convinced that he and Kenji shared a fair number of similarities.

Take the small boy's novels for example, they always involved the pursuit of immortality in some shape or another. A clear indication of the boy's dreams.

Kenji was also seen as a genius among his generation, just like he was at that age.

The small boy also had a curious mind, as seen from his position as the Head of the C.B.A. who's main focus was in the capturing and experimentation of these mutated animals. He himself had also taken to personally conducting experiments on these new specimens.

But perhaps the most convince proof of evidence was Kenji's ruthless nature. He had not hesitated to attack his friend and commanding officer when he thought that they were a threat, just further proving that behind that deceptive smile and kind appearance was the conniving mind of a snake waiting for his enemy to let down their guard.

It also helped that the boys relationship with the Old Man seemed to be cold at best.

"Kukuku. Kenji, I wonder what other surprises you will reveal. I cannot wait until our fated meeting. Kukuku."

(Ranko- I mean Aiko)

It had been three weeks since Aiko had begun her journey.

Many things had happened in her life after her brief encounter with Kenji, all those months ago.

She would always look back on that night, thinking about how the small boy had saved her before she was forced to sell her body. Not only had he comforted her, but he had also given her the money to buy back her family's farm and settle all her debts. She would forever be grateful to him and his kindness.

After she left the Leaf Village, she had traveled back to her small village. With a briefcase full of money, she had been able to pay off the loan sharks that had been hounding her, for weeks prior.

With the money left over, she had invested in some better farming equipment and began to work on the land earnestly. She had toiled on the land day in and day out, for weeks, but it had all been worth it when the first sprouts began to blossom.

There was almost something symbolic when she saw those little green stem poke out of the ground. She felt reborn.

It wasn't just that though, she had changed too. Now that she wasn't being pressured by loan sharks and debt collectors, the villagers had tried to make amends for their past actions. If it was the Aiko of the past, she might have forgiven them already, but the new her wasn't that compassionate. She had become colder, more closed off with her emotions, hardly ever smiling when she was in the village.

Kota, her childhood friend and once crush, had come begging for forgiveness once she had returned to the village. He had tried to apologize too, saying that he had been working hard everyday, even selling all of his possessions, in order to raise the money for her. He said all of this with tearful eyes but instead of feeling any type of warm feeling like she used to, Aiko's eyes were filled with disgust.

He had abandoned her in her time of need and only came back when everything was over. Any feelings she might have had for him shriveled up and died on that day.

She was once again isolated in the village, only this time it was by her choice.

So, she worked hard everyday trying to raise her small farm. Every night she thought of different ways to repay the one that helped her.

She remembered him saying that he wanted to be a merchant, so she thought that giving him some of her land would be an appropriate gift.

However, this plan didn't last long. During one of her rare visits into the village she had spot something that had shocked her. It was picture of Kenji on the front page of a local newspaper.

Although it had been months already, she could never forget what he looked like, even if he did look more handsome and had bandages covering his eyes. She had bought the newspaper and hurried home to read it.

The newspaper, that could be considered nothing more than a gossip rag, speculated that Kenji was the long-lost son of the Fire Daimyo who had only been reunited after a tragic accident caused the former to lose his eyesight.

Suddenly her measly land felt insignificant, when compared to what Kenji could get by himself from being a prince, and it looked like she would never be able to repay her benefactor.

Yet despite the bar being raised so high, she was determined to help him.

It was then that she had received a vision in the middle of the night. She didn't remember exactly what it was, the only thing she recalled was am unclear figure bathed in golden light telling her to travel South if she wanted to fulfil her promise.

Of course, she didn't immediately pack her things and leave town like a crazy person. But as the days rolled by, she noticed a number of oddities that hinted for her to head South. Things like a colony of white rabbits staring at her from the forest edge. Objects and furniture being rearranged in her house when she wasn't looking. Accidentally spilling a bowl of alphabet soup with the letters then rearranging themselves to form directions out of town.

The final nail to the coffin was when she had woken up to the sound of knocking, only it wasn't coming from the door, it was coming from the floor. She had run out of the house faster than she thought humanly possible and only returned when the sun had come up. Grabbing a hammer and a shovel she had ripped open the floorboards and dug into the packed dirt underneath her house.

She was shocked to see a small iron box buried about 3 feet deep. When she opened it, she was surprised to find her treasured hairpin, the very same that Kenji had given her, inside. She hadn't even noticed it was missing until she touched her hair and noticed it wasn't there anymore. Along with the feather shaped pin, was an old folded up parchment that looked to be extremely old.

When she opened it, the only thing on it was a picture of a tribal looking tattoo in the shape of a tiger's head. Then before she had time to react, the black lines glowed a golden color and she saw the world go white.

She didn't know how long she was unconscious but when she woke up again, she noticed that the drawing of the tiger had vanished from the paper. Then she mind was bombarded with new information in something called cultivation.

The diagram in her head was what was called a Cultivation Formula.

The nest of rabbits that always used to watch her had then appeared before her, books tied to their back in knapsacks.

This was how she was introduced to the world of cultivation. She was even more surprised to find that it was Kenji who wrote these books, but that only convinced her further that it was a sign.

So, when a represented of the local bank came a few days later to make an offer for her land she didn't put much of a fight. Apparently some unknown noble was buying a large number of farms in the area, and her little farm that grew common herbs was exactly what they were looking for.

If she wanted to keep her promise of repaying her savoir then she new what she had to do.

She sold the farm that she had been working so hard and packed her things. She left the village without saying goodbye to anyone and began her journey.

A day into her journey she had stumbled into her new friend, Po-Chin. He had been half starving when she found him, so she had offered him some of her food and he had been following her ever since.

Along her journey she had noticed that she had been struck with a strange streak of good luck. She had stumbled upon of strange new herbs almost every mile that would increase her energy whenever she ate them. Sometimes she would pick a stone off the ground only to turn it around and see it had glowing crystals on it.

She had quite the collection by the time she had reached her destination.

The white rabbits also tended to appear from time to time to point her in the right direction. Other times they would bring gifts such as exotic foods for her to eat or taijutsu scrolls and books for her to learn.

Now while she had never had a reason to learn to fight before, she did agree that being able to defend herself on the road would be useful, so she tended to practice whenever she had free time.

Currently the red-haired girl was riding on top of her giant panda.

"Woah! Hold it Po-chin!" she told her companion as she stood and leaped five feet in the air.

She landed on the ground with remarkable grace, contradicting

Being able to do that had since become the norm for Aiko after she began to eat those strange plants that the rabbits kept bringing her.

The red-head had noticed that she felt stronger and more agile, almost as if her whole body had undergone some transformation.

She was dressed in a red, sleeveless, Chinese-style shirt with black kung-fu pants and shoes. Her red hair was tied into a tight pigtail with bangs covering up her forehead.

Her bright blue eyes shined as she looked at the tall mountain range below her, a smile gracing her lips.

The road ended just a few feet in front of her, leading into a falling cliff wall. As far as the eye could see there were tall pillar shaped mountains. A blanket of mist hid most of the valley from view but just the cluster of mountains in front of Aiko were tall enough to touch the clouds.

She took the hairpin from her hair and placed it flat against her palm, "Well, where to now?"

The ivory hair piece floated on her palm with the end pointing at an upward direction, straight at the mountain top.

"Up there huh?" the pigtailed girl said to herself, putting the pin back in her hair.

She gave the cliff an apprising look before she took a running start and dived off the edge and into the fog below.

"Woohooooo…"

The panda chakra beast stood up and walked to the edge as well.

It peered over the edge before shaking his head sadly, lamenting the death of his meal ticket.

It didn't notice as a group of rabbits rushed from the underbrush behind it and jumped at him. Their small bodies collided with his back, toppling him over the edge.

"Rrrraaaaaggggg…"

The family of white rabbits high-fived each other before their bodies turned into specks of brightly colored lights.

* * *

 **A/N: Finish.**

 **I hoped you enjoyed that little bit of insight.**

 **I won't go into much detail, but it is safe to assume that everyone has their own opinion of Kenji.**

 **Anyone surprised that I brought Aiko back? In truth I was planning her part ever since she appeared, to act as a foil for Kenji, or rather a measuring stick.**

 **Kaguya has also been having fun playing her role as Goddess, causing mischief here and there, and manipulating mortals. If it wasn't apparent, she's using others as genine pigs to test some new methods of cultivation as well as new herbs and stuff before she gives the information to Kenji. In her book, those that survive are worthy to follow her and Kenji. She did promise to make Kenji a General after all, and what is a General without his soldiers. Wink wink ;)**

 **By the way, cultivation isn't something that normal people can learn just yet. Kaguya has been observing the way Kenji does it, and has been subconsciously guiding her test subjects. She could rip the information and cultivation techniques from them at any time, not going to make the same mistakes as the sage of six paths. More on that later.**

 **Now I'm sure some of you must have asked yourself what was the deal with the Chastity Ring and why removing the hand wouldn't stop the effects?**

 **The answer goes back to exactly how Kenji made them in the first place. He makes them by transferring the effects of one of his talisman (Anti-rape Talisman) into a ring. When someone put on the ring, that blessing get transferred from the ring and into themselves. The ring acts a medium. When they willingly take off the ring they are returning the borrowed blessing back to it.**

 **I hope that cleared things up.**

 **(Bonus Story)**

The Raikage stood patiently as he read over the Chakra Beast Encyclopedia in his office, his muscles coiled ready to spring at a moment's notice.

Chirp!

"AHA!"

With blinding speed, the man grabbed the bucket of water hidden underneath his desk and turned around before throwing it toward the annoying bird, sure that he would get him this time.

Unfortunately for him, he had forgotten that the broken window had already been replaced, so all the water did was bounce of the clean glass and ruin his carpet.

Bzzz! Chirp! Bzzz!

The lighting bird saw this and began to laugh at him. After feeling it had mocked him enough it flapped its wings and flew away.

The Raikage grit his teeth in anger before eventual releasing a tired sigh, "Well at least it's better than what they have in the Hidden Mist Village."

(Yagura)

Never did the Yagura think that he would be alive to see the spectacle in front of him, yet thing of this nature had become common place ever since a few weeks ago.

As his eyes scanned the streets below from the safety of his tower, he couldn't help but think if this was some unseen curse by all of those bloodline users the village had killed. Such thought only lasted for a few seconds before they disappeared, and he returned back to his usual emotionless self.

An alarm was blaring in the background signifying an attack.

The people below were scampering like ants trying to find any form of cover.

Yet it was not enemy shinobi they were hiding against like most would think. No, their attacker wasn't nearly as merciful.

Yagura could already spot them in the horizon as they emerged from the water's surface.

He sipped from the tea cup in his hand and began to think of how great it would be to just pass the Mizukage title to someone else and leave this village. A familiar voice in the back of his head spoke against this idea however, and just like the countless times before, he listened to it.

The village was being bombarded from above, a few unlucky citizens that were unable to find cover in time, became casualties to this new enemy.

In the sky were hundreds upon hundreds of Dumbo Octopuses flying over the village as they made their weekly trip to the other side of the island. They ranged from different colors, but it was hard to tell one from the other as the shear number of them was enough to block out the sun.

They looked like an ocean of Chinese lanterns the way they floated in the sky, using their little webbed tentacles to maneuver themselves in the sky.

And just like every other time, there would be someone stupid enough to attack them.

Yagura opened up his umbrella in a very stoic manner.

Every one of these flying octopuses chose to defend itself by releasing ink, but unlike in water, the ink only had one way to go. Down.

In seconds the entire village was coated in black oily substance.

Yagura, who had managed to avoid getting dirty, only had one thing to say, "…I hate Mondays."


	21. The Card System

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references mentioned in this fanfic.**

 **A/N: He all. I apologize for the lack of chapters recently. It's been a busy month for me, but I promise to start butting announcements on my profile if I'm taking a leave.**

 **I want to thank all of you who messaged me if I was okay, I really appreciate the concern. Besides a small stomach ache I am completely fine.**

 **Anyways enough about that, here the new chapter.**

 **Chapter 21**

 **(Time skip: 1 month)**

"-what a silly notion. You are by far the prettiest girl in that building," Kenji said.

"Hahaha, Ken-chan you are such a charmer. I should be careful, I just might fall for you."

"Then I would take that as my life's greatest accomplishment."

"Hoho, you will be quite the lady killer when you grow up. Make sure to visit me and the girls when you have the time. They have been asking about you."

Kenji smiled at the offer, "I will be sure to do that Madam, until then."

Kenji watched the hulking transvestite go down the stairs to the lower floors.

The person who had just left was Madam Ruby, the 'Matriarch' of the Leaf Village's most popular and exclusive brothel, the Ruby Palace.

It could be said that it was the gemstone of the Leaf's underworld, with all manner of men gather there to enjoy their fill of beauties that tantalized the male fantasy. It was said that a single night with one of their flower girls would set you back a paycheck but leave you smiling for the rest of the week. The top 5 girls, nicknamed the Heaven's Sins, were the best of the best in the village. As such this gave them the ability to be picky with their clientele with the only way that someone would be able to worm their way into their bed was if you either fit their individual taste or had their respective tokens. These tokens themselves were something that couldn't be bought with money and were only given on rare occasion by the brothel's owner, Madam Ruby.

Madam Ruby was also famous, or rather infamous around the village. He was a tall man standing at 6'4'' with thick muscles, light blue hair done in a traditional geisha hairstyle and a blue chin. He wore extravagant female kimonos and some light makeup making him look even scarier. Rumor was that he used to be a rather scary shinobi during the Second Shinobi War before retiring to open his brothel.

Kenji supposed that was still true, just in a different way.

Still he had come to consider the large crossdressing man as a close friend and the reason for that goes back to the time before Kenji had become a genin.

Back when he was just learning medical jutsu, he had needed patients to practice on. So he would disguise himself and make regular trips to the Red-light district after school and look for people that were in need of help.

It was small at first, just healing a scrape here, a bruise there, but as time went on, he started to see that he had a natural talent for healing on account of his perfect chakra control. So, using Hana, he was able to get more medical scrolls, and learn more advanced techniques. By that time, his alias had started to be spread among the district, and he would sometimes be requested to heal someone for a prize.

It was during one of his visits that he had been approached by Madam Ruby.

As it turned out, one of her girls had gotten sick, and the civilian doctor they had hired had been unable to do anything. Hiring a shinobi doctor was expensive too, almost 4 times what a normal doctor would cost, and the girl in question didn't have that much money on hand. Madam Ruby had gladly offered to loan her the money, but he first wanted to go to the little doctor that everyone had been talking about and save her the money if possible.

Kenji's skill at the time were rather lacking, and all he could really do was diagnose her. She had contracted an STD, probably from one of the brothels customers.

Things like this were frequent in this line of work after all, so it wasn't much or a surprise to Kenji. However, the same could not be said for those that were affected.

Madam Ruby as the owner, would be forced to let the girl go, before rumors of disease in her establishment could formed. The girl on the other hand would have to find a new line of work or go to a less reputable brothel that would accept her.

The two had looked so sad at what would have to happen.

Just as all hope seemed to be lost, Kenji appeared like a knight in shining armor, however this armor was black instead or silver.

Although Kenji's medical ninjutsu wasn't up to par yet, he did have something that were almost as good. His pills and elixirs to be exact.

He had a number of them that still needed testing, so he had offered to heal her if she agreed to be his guinea pig.

Since they couldn't go to a doctor in fear of the truth getting out, they had no choice but to agree.

With potions and pills, he was able to heal the girl in only an hour. She appeared healthier than ever before too.

Madam Ruby was so impressed with the result that she had asked Kenji to run tests on all of her girls. Kenji gladly agreed… for a price of course.

Ever since then, Madam Ruby and the Ruby Palace had been Kenji's allies. They had become a sort of information network for him, as well as helpers when he needed to find certain items.

This wasn't one sided either. With Kenji's help Madam Ruby was able to gain a foothold in the red-light district and had even been able to claim 32% of the territory away from the yakuza families and drug dealers and establish himself as one of the underworld's secret bosses.

He had given Kenji a large number of tokens and coupons to his brothel as compensation, something that the small boy used to bribe certain individuals when he needed to grease the wheels as it were.

Another reason why Kenji liked Madam Ruby, despite his quirk personality, was because they were huge spender.

It came as no surprise however, Madam Ruby had control of over a number of sister-brothels, gambling dens, and loan agencies. It was only logical to assume that he had accumulated a rather sizable wealth. He was perhaps the best customer that Kenji had in the village, with the Ruby Palace being the main buyer for elixirs, as evidence of the 1,200,000 ryo in Kenji's pocket. There was even talk of opening a sister branch in the Capital.

"Hm. Looks like it's going to be a slow day again," Kenji said as looked at the empty floor.

Currently he was on the fourth floor of his shop, a place that only a few people had access to.

While Moon Artifacts appeared as two-story shop on the outside, in reality it had a total of eight floors including the ground floor, with the top floor being his bedroom. It was his room that people saw from the outside with all of the other floors stuck somewhere in the middle, something that was only possible thanks to the shops magical space shifting ability. Not to say that it came cheap however as the modifications to the shop came close to 50,000 chakra points in total, with more plans to add underground floors.

There were seven levels of clearance in total: White, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Ruby, Emerald, and Ebony.

The higher your clearance the higher you could climb up.

White was the basic card that all customers received after they passed the initial screening. Without one they couldn't even enter his property as he had painstakingly erected a stone wall around all 6 acres of his land, and lined it with different talisman and seals. The card would let them enter his shop and buy from the ground floor.

Once they reached a certain number of spending points, then they were automatically given a Bronze Card that let them buy things on the second floor, which had upgraded items like tools, clothes, and simple medicines.

The Silver Card allowed them to go to the third floor, where they could buy low-mid Human grade artifacts as well as basic elixirs and pills.

The Gold Card did the same as the silver, except they could now buy high-human grade artifacts and participate in the Moon Artifact's famed Auction House that was conducted every two months.

Ruby, did the same as the previous cards but with the added benefit of buying Earth grade artifacts and receiving a catalog of the shop's full list of items.

Emerald allowed them to buy High-Earth artifacts and be allowed to attend the unveiling of the shop's newest line of products.

And last but certainly not least, was the Ebony Card. With this card, one would be able to call upon the full power of Moon Artifacts and all it's resources. Only two cards were ever made thus far, one for the Fire Daimyo and the other for the Third Hokage.

There were no Emerald cards currently made, but here were two Ruby cards in the village, that belonged to Gai and Madam Ruby respectively. They were due to the respect Kenji felt for them, despite neither one of them having reached even a fraction of the points required to reach that level. There might be more outside of the village, since Kenji had given the Daimyo a handful of Ruby cards to give to those, he felt deserved them.

Only three people had managed to achieve gold status, Tsume Inuzuka, Haiashi Hyuga, and Civilian Councilman Ogui Takebane. Tsume would have been a Ruby member, but she had suckered Kenji into taking the role of Leader of the C.B.A. so she got demoted.

Currently the first two levels were the most frequented with the third being rarely used, although that was sure to change as time went by.

As such It was no wonder why Kenji rarely got customers on his floor.

"Well, I suppose this gives me enough time to work on my latest project," the small boy suddenly proclaimed as he reached under the counter to retrieve a block of wood and a knife.

 **Wood Carver's Knife +10**

 **Quality: Low-Human**

 **Attack: 120**

 **+340**

 **10+: Woodcarving become 100% percent faster.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 40**

Taking the knife, his hands blurred into action with wooden shaving flying though the air. Yet despite the fast movements each stroke was done with expert precision.

In less than a minute, Kenji had a realistic looking hand made of wood. He brought it close to his bandaged eyes and looked for any flaws, but just like every other time, he found none.

"Eh, good enough," he said with a shrug and dropped it into a bin filled with other wooden parts.

He was just about to get another block of wood when someone came running up the stairs.

A blonde girl with two pigtails and rectangular glasses dressed in a long Chinese dress, that showed plenty of leg.

"Yo, Tsubaki, watcha doing here? Shouldn't you be in charge of the cash register on the first floor?" the small boy greeted his ex-captain and current employee.

After the event of the exam, almost everyone that was present during the final battle was made into a genin. The tester's reasoning was 'If they still want to be shinobi after experiencing that, then they are obviously qualified to be genin/fodder.' Kenji's team had obviously been the most sought-after people after everything was done and the departments were quick to scoop them up.

Of course, there were those that had declined the offer after they had experience that traumatic experience, and just like Kenji promised, he had offered them jobs at his shop (after an extensive screening of course). They mostly worked on the first two floors which were the busiest, while his clones worked on the other floors.

Tsubaki had been the only one that hadn't made the cut. No surprise there, since she did betray their side for her fiancé.

While it might have been an act born of love, there was no denying that had it been an actual war, many of them would have ended up dead thanks to her mistake. Not many shinobi were willing to trust such a person after all, so she lost any chance of ever being a shinobi.

That however was neither here or there, after Kenji had gotten out of prison, she had come to him and apologized for her past behavior. Kenji forgave her, after all he did use her for his plan too. Combined with him turning her into a glass statue and they were pretty much even so he offered her a job at his shop as a cashier.

He used ninshu on her just to make sure she had no intentions on betraying him later.

"There is something that requires your attention outside, Boss," Tsubaki said in a respectful tone.

Putting away the carving knife Kenji got out of his elevated stool and walked around the semi-circular counter.

"Eh? It better not be those pesky charity people asking for donations again. I thought I made it very clear that I want you to use all necessary and unnecessary force to get them off my-"

"It's not them, Boss. One of the C.B.A. teams is making a ruckus, it is disturbing the customers. They appear to be injured."

"What? Is that it?"

"One of them looks to be missing their right arm?"

"So?"

"…They're spilling blood all over the floor board."

"What!? Don't they know how hard it is to get blood out of hardwood?" Kenji said in a panic.

He took out a slip of paper from his sleeve, then he crossed his fingers in a familiar cross seal.

 **Shikigami Talisman**

 **Quality: Mid-human**

 **\+ Can create a doll servant.**

 **Chakra points Needed to Upgrade: 100**

The paper exploded into white smoke and out appeared an identical copy of Kenji.

However, unlike the normal clones created by the technique, these didn't get dispelled after a single hit. The amount of hits it could take depended on how much chakra it had, as any damage would lower it slightly until it collapsed into itself.

"I'll watch this floor, Boss," the clone said as he went to sit on the stool.

Kenji loved that all his clones knew exactly what he wanted. He tossed it a spare spatial ring, with some armor and weapons inside just to be safe.

Then he Body Flickered to the bottom floor.

"Hey! Hey! What's with all this dying I'm hearing about. I don't remember giving anyone permission to do that in my shop!" he shouted as he scanned the crowd and saw a trio of battered shinobi over a fallen man that was missing one arm and bleeding all over his freshly waxed floor. His eyes narrowed behind his bandages.

 **(Scene Change)**

"Waahhaa!"

Four people were sent flying out of the front door, landing in a groaning pile in front of the shop.

Kenji walked out dusting his hands and turned to yell something behind him, "Oi, someone clean up that blood! People could slip and fall! Last thing we want is a lawsuit, it would be bad for business!"

The small boy turned to the four and crossed his arms, "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"

One of the men, probably the leader, bowed in front of him with his head touching the ground, "Please, Boss! You have to help our friend!"

Kenji frowned in response, "Why?"

"His arm got torn off by a chakra beast!" the man pleaded.

"So? This is a shop not a hospital," now that he was looking at the boy with the missing arm, he saw that he was unnaturally pale.

"He lost a lot of blood on the way here and we also think he might be poisoned. We know you sell antidotes for some of the poisons from the chakra beast?"

'Well my shop is technically closer than hospital,' the small boy thought. His land was located right next to the wall, while the hospital was on the other side of the village.

"Then you could have bought the antidote without causing such a ruckus?"

"We can't, neither of us has a high enough card to buy the antidote," the only girl from the group interrupted.

"Hmm, that is a problem," Kenji said in a thoughtful tone. The kid looked young too, about 13 years old.

"Can you please help!?" they said bow to him, all except the injured boy who was too busy bleeding to death.

The small merchant rubbed the back of his neck, "Well I suppose…"

The group looked up with hope in their eyes, "Does that mean you will help us?"

Kenji sighed and nodded painting a thumb behind him, "Sure, I have a few coffins in the back?"

That hope shattered into dust before being blown by a passing gust of wind.

"You are just going to let him die!" shouted the leader as he jumped to his feet.

Kenji gained a tick mark, "Well what did you expect! This is a shop, not a charity! If you can't buy it then it's not my problem!"

"Don't you feel even a little compassion! Do you even have a heart!"

"Of course I have a heart! I have plenty, they're 30,000 ryo for anyone looking to buy!" That was mostly true, as he grew different organs for the hospital using his Yang Seal and donor samples.

"You black hearted monster!" the injured boy said with a glare.

"How rude. I'll have you know my heart isn't black. It's simply gold plated," Kenji said returning the glare.

The girl burst into tears, "P-please help?"

Her tears had no affect on Kenji, but he was getting tired of this. This wasn't the first time someone would try to use emotions and a sob story to gain access to a higher floor. In fact, this was the 13th attempt just this week.

"Fine, can you at least tell me what chakra beast it was?" he said while massaging his temples.

"Y-yes," the girl stuttered a response as she unstrapped a large sealing scroll from her back and open it.

A large plum of smoke covered the area, but Kenji could already see what the chakra beast was, and despite himself he felt impressed.

"A Stone Rhino huh?" he said as he walked closer to the huge armored beast. It weighed close to 15 tons and was at least two stories tall, with a one large 6 ft horn on its nose. It had segmented stone plates growing on it's skin that covered it in a protective armor. It was the very definition of an armored tank, with its only weak spot being its insides.

"Alright, which one of you has the highest card," he asked them.

The leader took out a bronze card from his pocket, "I do!" He ran over to Kenji and handed it over.

Kenji took a glance at the bronze card. It was the size of a credit card and showed the basic information of the owner.

 **Momotaro Mikoshiba**

 **ID: 000078**

 **Type: Bronze**

 **Ryo Balance: 3,490**

However, his eyes scanned for something only he could see. 'This guy doesn't even have a fraction of the points needed to advance to the next level. Still? To be able to take down a Stone Rhino with just four people, it would be a shame to lose them so soon…'

"I see… I'll tell you what I can do," Kenji said as he began to walk around the large beast, inspecting it from every angle, "If you sell me the body of the chakra beast, I'm willing to give you a one-time pass to the third floor-"

"Thank you!" the leader said as he gave a bow.

"Don't thank me yet," Kenji said seriously, "Do you happen to still have the arm by any chance?"

The shock their heads sadly, "No, the rhino ate it after ripped it off."

'Well that sucks, the Limb Regrowing Elixir can only be purchased on the 5th floor. Hmmm? Maybe?' the small merchant thought as he turned to the large animal carcass that was blocking the road to this shop.

"First things first," he muttered under his breath as he walked up to it and grabbed the horn in both his arms. Channeling chakra into his muscles he grunted, digging his feet on the ground as he pulled with all his might.

"Huaaa!"

The group that were watching felt their jaws drop as they say the small boy lift the giant animal off the ground and swing it by its horn.

Kenji let go, and the large body went soaring through the air, landing 30 ft away.

Rolling up his sleeves, he walked closer to it, and took out a beautiful Chinese cleaver from his space ring. The rectangular blade was a silver-grey color. The handle was a black painted wood with a picture of a golden dragon wrapped around it.

 **Dismantling Cleaver +11**

 **Quality: Mid-Human**

 **Attack: 600**

 **+500**

 **10+: Dismantling dead bodies becomes 200% easier.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 340**

Taking the cleaver, Kenji placed it gently on the beast's armored belly. Then he ran the edge of the blade all the way across. The armored plates were sliced way as if made out of tofu.

"No way!"

"H-how-"

"All of our kunai bounced clean off it's scales, how did he?"

Kenji ignored the background chatter as he located the stomach and split it open using the knife, then reached a hand inside. He searched inside the stomach's contents, until he felt something. "Aha!"

Kenji held up the disembodied arm above him as if it was some sort of great prize. The arm itself looked relatively fine except for it being covered in stomach acid and predigested muck.

He threw the arm toward the leader, who caught it with a disgusted face.

Kenji then took out a hand towel to clean his hands before retrieving the boy's bronze card. He swiped his finger across the surface and did a hand seal.

The card changed.

 **Momotaro Mikoshiba**

 **ID: 000078**

 **Type: Bronze**

 **Ryo Balance: 53,490**

"There. I added the amount for the Stone Triceratops, which is 50,000 Ryo. I'll right a note, show it to one of the girls in the counter, they will take you to the 3rd floor. Once there ask for a Tissue Reattachment Potion and a Minor Healing Elixir. The total should be 40,000. Now go, your friend looks like he is about to kneel over any second," Kenji said flicking the card back to the man.

"Thank you!" they shouted as they ran back to the shop.

Kenji ignored them, as he took the cleaver again, "Well, seeing as I'm already here, I might as well just finish dismantling it."

 **(Scene change)**

"Anko, are you sure you're okay," asked a worried Kurenai.

Across the table, Anko looked up from her booklet, a pen in her hand, "Huh? Why do you say that?"

The red-eyed kunoichi crossed her arms, "Well I've been trying to get your attention for the past 5 minutes. You haven't even touched the dango on your plate."

"What the- When did these get here," Anko said in a surprised tone as she saw a plate with untouched dango.

"What are you even reading," Kurenai said as she tried to take a peek, but the purple haired woman closed the book with a snap.

Putting the book away, the snake mistress puffed up her chest causing her breasts to bounce once, "Sorry, babe, but it is strictly confidential."

Raising an eyebrow Kurenai responded, "Confidential huh? Then I guess you can pay for your own dango."

She made a motion to reach for the dango only for Anko to pull them closer to her and hiss at her like a scorned cat.

Kurenai didn't look impressed however as she flicked her friend's forehead.

"Ow! Meanie," the purple haired woman complained as she rubbed her forehead.

"Fine, keep your secrets," the Genjutsu Mistress said with a roll of her eyes.

"Hey! Do you want to head to the Moon Artifacts, I have somethings I need to buy there," Anko offered as she began shoving dango into her mouth.

"First of all, don't talk with your mouth full, it's disgusting. Second, Moon Artifacts, isn't that the shop owned by that Noble kid?" Kurenai asked. In truth she had been meaning to go there for some time now as she had heard quite a few good things about it, but things kept coming up, so she had been putting it off.

Swallowing the dango Anko took a large gulp of tea and continued, "Ahhh. That hit the spot. But yeah, I finally have enough money, so I wanted to browse for a bit. Wanna come."

"I suppose I have nothing else to do today."

"Cool, you'll love it," she said with a grin.

After paying for the food they made their way out of the shopping district and onto an old beaten path that cut right though the farming land. The amount produced inside of the village although wasn't much it was at least enough to feed all of the citizens for at least a couple of days if there was ever a siege.

They found their intended destination relatively quickly, as it contrasted greatly with the surrounding area.

A 12ft high stone wall could be seen encompassing a large area of the land. It had a large entrance made entirely of wood with two large doors acting as the only gates.

There was a small stand built into the wall where a small blindfolded boy could be seen reading a book.

The two women made their way to the counter.

"Hey there Boss," Anko greeted the shadow clone, "Slow day?"

"Mitarashi," the clone said as they closed their book, "Hmm? You brought someone new?"

Anko wrapped one arm around Kurenai's shoulder, "Yep, this is my friend, Kurenai."

"It's good to have friends," the clone said with a pleasant smile. "I take it you want to apply for a membership?"

"Yes, that is correct," the raven-haired woman said as she got out of the one-armed hug.

"Okay," he said as he took out an application form from under the desk, "Just fill this out and I'm going to need some form of identification."

"Will my shinobi license work?"

"Yes, it will."

She took the paper and read over it carefully, before taking the offered pen and signing it.

"There."

"Perfect, then I just need the 500 Ryo application fee and your license."

"Don't worry Kurenai, I got this," Anko offered as she took five 100 Ryo bills from her wallet and slapped them on the counter.

"…Please don't do that," the clone said.

"Sorry."

After verifying that the license did belong to her, the clone took out a box. Opening it, he took out a thick card that looked to be made out of a solid plate of iron.

"I'm going to need a drop of your blood to activate it," Kenji said as he took out a ceremonial looking dagger from his sleeve.

Kurenai looked hesitant, but with Anko's urging, she sliced her thumb and let a single drop of blood fall on the card.

Kenji held up a hand sign and the blood seeped into the metal turning it white with black ink appearing on the surface to show some basic information.

 **Kurenai Yuhi**

 **ID: 000243**

 **Type: White**

 **Ryo Balance: 0**

The clone handed the newly activated card to the red-eyed woman, "Here, this will help you pass through the gate. I hope you enjoy our shop."

"Come on, were burning daylight," Anko exclaimed as she started pulling her friend in the direction of the wooden gate.

"Anko, wait!"

"No time for that," the Snake Mistress said as she rushed at the obviously closed door without a hint of stopping. Just as it looked like they would crash, something unbelievable happened, they passed through the gate as if was just an illusion.

"Wha-" Kurenai said with wide eyes as she turned back to look the very real looking gate, "How- Did we just-"

"Yeah, it's pretty cool right, I thought it was genjutsu at first too, but the gate is real enough," Anko explained.

Kurenai looked around her and felt a sense of tranquility settle inside her as she took in the calming scene in front of her.

A stone path lead to a charming two-story building that had a large sign with the shops name on it. The grass was a vibrant green that looked to be freshly cut. There were a cluster of weeping willows and sakura trees placed around randomly with exotic looking flowers growing under their shade. She saw as a family of rabbits scampered around the grounds freely and even spotted a koi pond a little way off.

"It's very… peaceful," she said trying to find the right words.

Anko who was already used to it shrugged, "I suppose, but enough sightseeing. Come on."

As they walked on the man made path Kurenai saw a mob of little white beings running around. They were 2 feet in height and looked to be made out of marshmallow, a blocky body and square heads without necks. They lacked any features that one could find in a living creature. The closest thing she could compare them too, was as if someone had taken a human shaped cookie cuter and used it on a block of tofu. Yet despite not having faces or fingers they were carrying different tools in their arm stumps and wearing yellow hard hats.

"Those are the shop's boss, calls them shikigami. They're cute to look at, just don't try biting them, despite their looks they are pretty strong and they tend to group together," Anko explained, "I learned that the hard way."

Her friend looked at her questioningly, "What? Why would you-"

"I thought they were made of dango," she grumbled, trying to not remember the memory of being body tackled by twenty of those little guys.

They watched as the shikigami walked to the large corpse on the lawn where others of its kind were dismantling it with tools, using rope and make shift platforms to reach the higher places.

"They kind of look like ants," Kurenai said watched their perfect teamwork as they reach the shop's entrance.

They opened the door and walked inside. Kurenai was once more amazed by the total change in scenery.

The inside looked like a small department store, split into different sections. There were books, clothes, camping tools, even pet toys and at the very back was a semi-circular counter with four girls in Chinese style dresses attending a line of customers.

"Oi Kurenai, stop spacing out?"

"Huh? Hmph, I wasn't spacing out," she said with an embarrassed pout, "It's just a lot bigger on the inside. Do you know how they did it?"

Anko shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know, seals? Magic? Who cares?"

However instead of going right in, they headed to another counter that looked to be built into the wall with another clone smiling at them.

"Good Afternoon, how may I help you today?" the Kenji clone asked in a pleasant tone.

Anko took out a leather pouch from 'somewhere' and opened it, dumping the contents on the counter. The small pouch was obviously special as it was able to hold more than it should be possible, as evidence to the large pile of herbs.

"I'm looking to donate," she said confidently as she handed her bronze colored card over.

The clone separated the herbs and wrote everything down a separate piece of paper, "Let's see, the total comes out to 3,200 points. Do you wish to proceed?"

"Yes?"

"Very well, your donation will be added to your card. Congratulations, you have reached the amount of points required to reach the next level. Your clearance is now Silver. You may buy items from the third floor," the clone said as he went through some hand signs and the bronze card turned silver.

 **Anko Mitarashi***

 **ID: 000025**

 **Type: Silver**

 **Ryo Balance: 178,370**

Anko took the card and held it up like some sort of prize, "Yes! I can finally go up to the third floor!"

Kurenai didn't know what was happening so she had to ask, "I don't understand, is that a big deal?"

The clone chose to enlighten her, "I suppose you can say that. Please allow me to explain? In Moon Artifacts your card not only serves as your identification but also your wallet. If you look at your card you will see that your balance is currently at 0. At this counter you can exchange real life money for the store's currency. With every purchase you make a certain number of store points are added to your card. When you accumulated enough points, your card's level will automatically rise."

"But what about this donation thing," she asked the clone.

"There is one other way to raise one's level without needing to buy items, and that is through donations. Exotic plants, medicinal herbs, chakra ores, beast crystals, even family heirlooms, we will accept everything but Ryo. Of course, you can also sell them to us and we will give you a fair price, but your points will stay the same," it explained before pointing to a bulletin board to the side with different flyers, "If you look to the side you will find a noticeboard. It has a list of different items that the shop is currently looking for, and how much they are worth."

Kurenai looked at the noticeboard as saw a picture with a red root on it,

 **In need of Fire Ginseng**

 **Collect as much Fire Ginseng**

 **Reward: 2,000 Ryo per ginseng or 100 Store Points each**

"It's updated on a weekly basis, so keep an eye peeled when out of the village okay?"

"Oh, I see," the Genjutsu Mistress nodded as she scanned the bulletin board and noticed that many of the plants that Anko had brought corresponded with different flyers.

Turning back to the clone she took out her wallet and placed some money on the counter, "I'd like to deposit some money in my account then."

The clone took the money and finished the transaction with well-practiced ease.

 **Kurenai Yuhi**

 **ID: 000243**

 **Type: White**

 **Ryo Balance: 3,000**

With her card firmly in her hand she could finally start shopping.

She walked toward the clothing section of the store and quickly lost herself in the new experience, "Oh, this top looks cute? What? It's only 60 Ryo. Maybe I should get two?"

Anko looked at just how fast she was forgotten, "Oh well, at least I can go to the third floor without worry now?"

She quickly made her way to the third floor, completely ignoring the second.

Once she reached it, she walked toward the counter where Kenji's clone was carving a human face out of a block of wood, "Hey there Boss? How's business?"

The clone didn't glance up as he tried to shape the mouth in just the right way, "Hello Mitarashi, how is my prized student? Business is going fine. The original is outside however."

"Can't complain. So anyways, I remember you saying that you sell-"

"You want to purchase a Pill furnace I take it," the clone cut in.

"Yeah, you sell them on this floor, right?" she asked with a large grin leaning on the counter, purposely giving the clone a look at her cleavage.

The Kenji clone put away the head and tools before turning to face her, "I do. They are 100,000 Ryo each. You have the money?"

Anko stuck out her card, "You bet your ass I do! I've been saving up for weeks."

The clone smiled at her enthusiasm. Just like he said, Anko was Kenji's prized student in the Alchemy classes something that should came as a big surprise on account of her familiarity with making poisons. That wasn't to say that she didn't put any effort, as she worked harder than any other of his students.

He could also guess the reason why. She probably wanted to find a way to suppress or eliminate her curse seal using alchemy. This was mostly caused by the tea she had ingested during his meeting with the Hokage. Its ability to suppress it must have made a bigger impact than he initial thought.

He took out a space ring and located the item inside. With a wave of his hand a small two-foot-high urn appeared on the counter. It was dark blue in color and stood on four legs with a small window built on the side to feed it ingredients.

Kenji's clone took the card and subtracted the amount from her balance.

He handed the card back to her but also a book, "Here. Seeing as you were the first of my students to buy one, I'll give you this as a reward."

She scanned to the book and noticed that it was filled with different techniques on pill refining and personal notes about useful herbs and materials. She held to her chest tightly, "Boss, …you suddenly look pretty handsome today."

The clone smile turned into a line as it flicked a wood chip at her.

"Ow!"

She rubbed her forehead but smile anyways. She was one step closer to ridding herself of her curse once and for all.

'Wonder if I can use it to make dango?'

* * *

 **A/N: Done. Hey everyone, hope you like todays chapter.**

 **For those of you who were wondering what Madam Ruby looked like, just search up Saigou Tokumori from Gintama.**

 **So there was a small time skip, four weeks to be exact.**

 **This chapter didn't have a lot of Kenji, since I wanted to cover the shops system and those who use it. Next chapter will be all Kenji I promise.**

 **I hope the system was easy to understand, it is something to keep in mind but don't worry if you don't since it won't play a big part in the story.**

 **If you have any questions please feel free to ask, I'll try to answer them in the next chapter, which I am working on right now.**

 **Until next time :)**

 **PS: Kenji has already black listed a few people from entering his property like Danzo, Itachi, Tsunade, etc.**


	22. Spirit Roots

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references mentioned in this fanfic.**

 **A/N: Hey everyone! I glad that you all liked the last chapter.**

 **I'll answer a few questions before anything else.**

 **Itachi and Tsunade are blacklisted because well Itachi did murder the entire Uchiha clan and Tsunade doesn't have the best track record in repaying debts.**

 **Madam Ruby is a transvestite not gay, he even has a daughter.**

 **Master Shu is Kenji's shinobi persona. It's when he is dressed as a fat kung-fu master with the fake beard.**

 **More questions at the bottom.**

 **Chapter 22**

Kenji grunted in effort as he pushed his arm into the head of the large chakra beast, his fingers brushing against the protective tissue growing around the beast crystal.

"Ahh, almost got it. Aha!" he proclaimed triumphantly as he managed to get a firm grip and yank it out, splashing his clothes with drops of blood and brain matter.

His small tofu-I mean shikigami were scurrying around dismantling the rest of the stone rhino into usable parts.

One of them came to him with a water bottle and a towel in its fingerless hands.

Kenji rinsed the pentagonal purple crystal and dried it before holding it up to the sky. If he focused hard enough using ninshu, he could sense the echoes of the fallen beast still inside the crystal. It would disappear in a day or two however so there was no need to worry.

"With this I should have enough to begin testing my new idea," the blindfolded merchant thought as he gained a sly smile.

However he was brought out of his planning when he noticed a commotion behind him. He turned to see one of his paper dolls being engulfed by what seemed to be some green smile. Its teammates were beating the slime with anything they had in their hands, shoves, picks, axes, saws, hammers even a chisel.

The slime like creature however didn't look affected in the slightest, the shikigami inside of it stopped its struggling and transformed back into a slip of paper.

Kenji choose to intervene before it destroyed more of his workers. He crossed the distance and thrust a palm coated in chakra into its nucleus, causing it to burst.

He shook his hand to get rid of the goo before stopping and gaining a curious look, "Hmm… maybe? Oi someone collect all of this goo."

Looking toward the corpse of the large chakra beast, Kenji pried open the stomach even further to see if anymore more were hiding inside.

Slimes were actually plants-based chakra beasts, a result of chakra dust being introduced to algae. They had a transparent green semi-liquid body with a soft sac acting as the core. They were ranked as a level 0 chakra beast on account of there low combat level and their weak bodies. They were extremely weak to changes in temperature and any chakra-based attacks. Civilian could literally kill them with a cup of boiling water if they wanted. Because of this, they shared a symbiotic relationship with other bigger chakra beast in order to survive. Still if left alone they could cause a huge unbalance to the agriculture of the country.

Kenji spotted two more of those slimes hiding inside of the rhino and quickly disposed of them, but not before collecting the goo, also known as slime jelly.

For the next couple of hours, he worked carefully, to make sure that nothing went to waste.

"Looks like I'll be able to make so good armor out of those stone plates, and a decent weapon out of the horn," he muttered to himself before shaking his head, "lets leave that for later, at least until I finish my current project."

He returned to his shop and continued to man the third floor until it was closing time.

At exactly 9 PM the gates to his home would not allow anymore customers to enter his territory while those still shopping would receive a warning that they would be closing.

Kenji bid his workers farewell as they also went home.

"Now then, time for some crafting," the small boy declared as he headed for the staircase, only this time a hidden stairway opened up leading to a lower floor.

He descended into his workshop below the shop, a place that had all manner of tools and equipment scattered all over the place.

There were tables with half-finished sketches, numerous weapon and armor prototypes hung from the ceiling from metal chains.

On one side of the room was a large furnace with an anvil and hammer giving off an orange glow. While the other had a built-in wooden drawers filled with alchemy ingredients as well as his personal pill furnace.

He walked towards a stone table that was cleared of any materials and took out a brush and some ink and proceeded to draw a cultivation formula on it.

"Looks good, now for the next part?" he said as he went to a drawer and took out 9 large power stones and the beast crystal he had gotten from the stone rhino.

He placed the 9 stones around the large diagram spaced evenly apart and watched as the formula glowed a dark purple color as the chakra contained inside of the stones fueled it.

"Okay. Now for the hard part," he muttered as he walked to his wood working corner and retrieved a cart of wooden mannequin parts.

 **Wood Mannequin Head +5**

 **Quality: Ordinary**

 **Defense: 30**

 **+100**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 1**

He assembled the full-sized doll in seconds and placed it gently on the table, above the glowing formula.

"This would be a lot easier if I had an idea how Sasori was able to transform himself into a damn puppet," he complained and he used a drill to make a hole on the dummy's chest large enough to fit the beast crystal, "Maybe then I wouldn't have to result in all of this guess work."

He took the beast crystal and noticed how it had begun to lose it's purple hue, "Tch. It appears that the soul was weaker than I thought. It should still have enough juice before it crosses over though?"

Carefully he poured a mixture of epoxy and chakra sensitive liquids inside of the dummy before placing the chakra beast crystal inside and covering the hole with some duct tape.

This was as far as he had gotten in his research to make a living doll.

Mechanical. All-purpose. Intelligent. Doll.

M.A.I.D. for short was his secret project to create the perfect employee. They would be able to work 24/7 without stop, since they didn't need to eat or sleep. Be able to attend customers with a friendly and patient attitude. Protect themselves and the shop should it ever be under attack. And best or all he wouldn't have to pay them.

He took off his bandages and focused his eyes on the doll in front of him. His golden slit eyes narrowed as they noticed the chakra from the cultivation diagram begin to penetrate the beast crystal.

"The duct tape is holding surprisingly well this time. Perhaps I should upgrade it even further?"

His eyes noticed the nature chakra in the air was now being sucked into the doll.

Twitch.

Kenji face lit up at the small finger spasm. He didn't get his hopes up yet however.

The leg jerked out next, and the small boy had to suppress a squeal of joy.

Next the mannequin's face turned to face him, the lovely feminine face that he carved on it almost looked curious despite it being set in a firm expression.

It reached out a hand towards him but that was all it had the chance to do before it's chest bulged out ready to explode.

Kenji took out his shield umbrella and opened it in front of him.

 **Red Umbrella Shield +13**

 **Quality: High-Human**

 **Defense: 10**

 **+1520**

 **10+: 25% of chakra attacks get stored to create a powerful force field around the user. Amount of chakra stored is equal to its Defense rating.**

 **12+: 4% chance to reflect jutsu back at the caster.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 1150**

The doll exploded into, showering his workshop into a thousand splinters.

"Sigh. As I thought, there is still something that's missing," he muttered to himself as he looked around the room. The beast crystal had been thrown across the room, now a dark brown color as the remnants of the soul had been used up. The power stones had also shattered into tiny shards that littered the ground.

The small boy took out four shikigami talismans and threw them on the ground. They transformed into familiar tofu looking dolls, their little legs making a *poing* sound every time they took a step.

"Clean this place up. Separate the power stone shards, I can still use them for pills so make sure not to miss any," he ordered them.

They all saluted and ran for the metal locker that had cleaning supplies.

"Hughh! If only you guess could do basic math, I wouldn't have to go through all of this trouble," the small merchant lamented at their lack of intelligence.

"I suppose I can take a bath, Akame won't be back for a couple more days," he said as he untied his pony tail and let his waist length brown hair hang loosely.

Currently his shadow clone disguised as Master Shu was out off the village doing their first ever C-rank mission. Akame had chosen to tagalong just to serve as back up.

He mentally focused on his reserves.

 **Chakra: Chunin**

 **Chakra Points: 5,203/5,400**

 **Soul Point: 99**

He was close to completing 100 soul points like he had promised Kaguya, but he wanted to wait for Akame to get home just in case it turned out to be something bad.

Kenji couldn't help but wonder what his friend was doing at the moment.

 **(Scene change)**

Spears of hardened darkness erupted from the ground, turning the unlucky bandit in charge of guarding the cage with the hostages into a walking pincushion.

From the shadows emerged a white rabbit with glowing red eyes and a black crescent shaped moon on her head. She was wearing what looked to be white armor with two horns on it.

Her big eyes looked toward the people inside, which was made up of women and young children.

They looked scared but also hopeful at her appearance.

Akame tapped on the ground twice signally for the attack to start.

From the depth of the forest came a volley of arrows that rained down on the bandit camp. Each of the arrows traveled silently and with expert precision as they killed their targets instantly, drilling through armor, muscle, and bone almost effortlessly.

Then a gigantic rolling ball crashed into the middle of the camp, crushing tents and people alike.

The bandits were now aware of an attack but that didn't save them as two whirlwinds began to attack them, gouging out pieces of earth and flesh out of anything that it touched.

The bandit leader rushed out of his tent with a kunai in one hand watching as his camp was thrown in chaos.

He brought up his kunai to block an arrow aimed at his throat but was surprised as the force behind it caused him to skid back.

"What the hell," he screamed angrily, before he was assaulted with a flurry of arrows aimed at him.

He began to weave hand seals to make a fireball and burn them to cinders but he never got the chance to finish as an arrow pierced the back of his head, killing him instantly.

The entire battle had only last about two minutes, and once it was over three people walked to the center of the camp.

Kenji, or rather Master Shu, stroked his fake kung-fu beard and grinned at his teammates, his Bow of Artemis in his hand, "Looks like this mission is a success?"

An Akimichi girl scowled as she dusted her clothes, "Whatever. Come on let's hurry back to the village. I need to take a bath, I hate rolling around on the dirt."

An Inuzuka clansmen rolled his eyes, while his canine partner sat obediently at his side.

"Sure, we just need to return the captives to the closest village, and we can go back home," Kenji told them.

Kenji stripped the corpses of any useful items and raided the camp for equipment and treasure. He was slightly disappointed to find they only had a total of 4,000 ryo but the rare plants in the store house was more than enough to lighten his mood.

The civilians would need to be escorted back to their home but after that, the mission was official completed and they could all go back to the Leaf.

 **(Scene change)**

Kenji was working on the third floor again when he received an influx of new memories.

Akame appeared only seconds latter coming out of a shadow.

She hoped on the counter wearing her shrine priestess outfit and presented him a storage ring.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" he asked with a smile as he took the ring and scratched her chin.

'Hmph. They were weak. I need a stronger challenge,' came her arrogant respond through their mental connection.

"Hmm… you've been getting a big head lately. Better be careful, Lin-Lin and Drago have been training extra hard to catch up to you."

'The mutt and the lizard. As if.'

Kenji got a teasing smile as he pinched her sides, "I don't know, you might want to cut back on those carrots and start training some more. You're getting kind of oof-"

The small merchant didn't even get to finish as an indignant Akame headbutted him before scratching his face.

"You take that back! I am not fat!" she shouted using her real voice that sounded like it belonged to a high-pitched prepubescent girl.

"Hahaha!" Kenji laughed as he held her by the scuff of her neck. "Right. I'm sorry. I'm glad your back safe."

"Hmph," she said crossing her arms and looking away.

"Here I made you some carrot cake," the small boy said as he waved his hand and slice of cake appeared on the counter, causing Akame's nose and ears to twitch.

"I'll forgive you, but only this once," she said with a glare.

"Whatever you say, your majesty," he said sarcastically as he placed her back on the counter.

She didn't say anything more as she began to stuff her face with the delicious treat.

When she finally came back for air, she looked around the room curiously before looking at her partner, "Where are the others?"

Kenji looked up from his woodwork, "Drago is currently guarding the fourth flour, while Lin-Lin is guarding the storage house. Dewdrop is still in her cacoon, she's close to reaching level 2. Stumpy is hiding somewhere underground and Silvy is in the pound out front."

Akame wiped the frosting off her face, "Hmph. The nerve of them to not greet their elder sister when she returns. I should beat some manners into them later for not showing me enough face."

"Showing face? Why are you talking like that? Have you been reading my novels again," Kenji said with a frown, "You know how you get afterwards."

"I don't know what you are talking about," she said looking away, "I'm just saying as the eldest of your partners they should look up to me and show me the proper respect."

"Right. I'm not getting into this discussion again," the small boy said giving up this conversation before it was too late.

Akame however didn't feel like letting it go as she went on, "Why not? Haven't I been there for you. Don't I deserve some recognition!"

Sigh. "What do you want?"

"…can I make a sect-"

"No."

Akame began to through a tantum on the counter hoping up and down, "But I want one! I want it! I want it! I want it!"

Kenji rolled his eyes behind his bandages, "I already told you that I can't allow you to make any more chakra beasts. I allowed your friends to stay here but that is it. I don't think I can handle anymore superpowered rabbits at this time."

"Whyyy? I'll take care of them I promise. You won't have to do anything," she whined.

"First of all, you aren't responsible enough. Second of all if I allow it then the others will want one to. So no," the brunet said firmly.

"Please," the small bunny pleaded trying to make her eyes look bigger.

"You do remember that I can't see you right," Kenji said as he waved his hand over his covered eyes. He could only see things in echolocation so he couldn't see what type of expression she had, but he could feel her emotions as a hint. "Fine. Let's see… bring me back 4 Level 2 chakra beast crystal and you can have your sect."

"Yes!" she cheered as she did a back flip and stood up right placing one of her paws in a guts pose. "I'll get to it right now."

She disappeared into her own shadow as if it were a pool of water.

Kenji sighed, "That should keep her busy for a few weeks at least."

He put away his woodworking tools and took out a black and silver cauldron the size of a large pot.

 **Alchemy Cauldron +16**

 **Quality: High-human**

 **Defense: 700**

 **+1200**

 **+Temperature control seals**

 **10: Can make Elixirs from any type of materials.**

 **12: 5% of discovering a new recipe.**

 **14: Can give insight into different ingredients.**

 **16: Elixirs made are 500% stronger.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 3,000**

He added 4 cups of water that he had purified with his fermentation tank. Then he added some green slime jelly and some crushed power stone shards.

He activated the cauldron and let the insides heat up, coming to a boil in only a fraction of the time. The slime and the shards had dissolved into the water turning it a turquoise color.

Next, he lowered the heat and added a bright blue flower, a red mushroom, and some fire ginseng into the mixture. They dissolved almost instantly causing purple fumes to appear. Next he added the horn of a spiked chameleon that was known for its ability to absorb certain materials.

For the last ingredient he took out a knife and peeled off a thin layer from his skin, using medical ninjutsu to numb the area just before he did it so he wouldn't feel the pain.

He dropped the bloody piece inside and watched as the mixture turned red.

Kenji let the mixture alone as he partially healed his wound, leaving only a red scar.

In 10 minutes, the elixir was finished and he took it out of the cauldron and into glass vials.

 **Epidermis Potion**

 **Quality: Mid-human**

 **\+ Coves the area affected in a layer of realistic looking skin.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: N/A**

The potion was a pale peach color with the consistence of yogurt.

He tilted the vial on his scar and watched as a few drops touched his skin. The liquid had smoothed itself out and turned into the same shade and texture as the rest of his skin.

When he touched it, he noticed that it felt warm like real skin. There was nothing to give away that it was fake.

"Hmm? This is a good start. The formula needs more work but if it works, I can sell the elixir to the hospital and the shinobi corps. The hospital can use it to perform skin grafts and shinobi could use it to make a realistic looking disguise without having to rely on the transformation technique."

Of course, there was also the cosmetic option but that would require more human testing.

 **(Scene change)**

It was night time, and the grounds were closed off to any more visitors.

Kenji was sitting outside with Akame, Lin-Lin, Drago, Silvy, Stumpy, and Dewdrop's cocoon.

He looked at Akame, the leader of this pack, "Remember to stop me if anything weird starts happening."

'Yeah. Yeah. Get on with it.'

Going into a lotus meditative stance he closed his mind and went through the process of purifying his chakra.

At this point he was fairly used to the process of condensing his chakra, to the point where he didn't even feel bothered by the excess heat.

The chakra turned into a golden drop which flowed into his reserves.

He had been nervous to attempt this for some time as he felt that amount of purified chakra in him was getting too much to handle for his body.

He observed the golden chakra liquid with batted breath waiting for any type of reaction.

He didn't have to wait long however as a sharp pain sprouted in his stomach.

The golden liquid began to move sporadically almost as if it were alive, and it took every amount of mental discipline for Kenji to not break concentration.

It took several minutes for it to settle down but once it did it had condensed into a single golden ball.

Just as he thought that the worst was over a root like tendril began to grow outward from the surface of the golden ball. It was followed by more and more roots that began to grow longer in length.

These roots seemed to ignore any physical obstacle as they passed through the walls of his stomach.

That wasn't to say that it was painless though as Kenji began to scream when he felt them drill their way into his bones and muscle tissue.

He could feel Akane try to help but there was nothing she could do as the roots penetrated every square inch of his body forming a network of golden lines. He noticed some of them merge into his cardiovascular system.

His chakra system also seemed to be partial connected at certain points but not completely.

Kenji felt a burning sensation on his skin, and it took him a second to realize he was on fire.

No that wasn't correct.

His body was engulfed in phantom flames.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he felt new information grow.

 **Chakra: Chunin**

 **Chakra Points: 5,203/5,400**

 **Cultivation: First Stage**

 **Soul Points: 0**

That was the last thing he remembered before his mind couldn't take it anymore and he passed out.

 **(Scene change)**

Kaguya had been keeping a close eye on Kenji, just like she always did when he was doing something interesting, when she felt it.

She was unsure of what was happing, when he suddenly started screaming out in pain.

She would admit that she had panicked for a fraction of a second before she noticed a strange phenomenon occurring inside of him.

Using the limited amount of godly power in her, she noticed as his soul grew stronger as it fed on the golden chakra liquid. The connection between his soul and his mortal body grew stronger with the addition of those strange root-like structures.

This entire scene reminded her of something she had read in one of those martial arts novels that her General was so fond of writing, the establishing of a cultivator's base.

Her follower was always the first to dismiss anything that related to cultivation since to him it was just something that he had created to make some money.

She however new different, she had witnessed his power on many occasions and seen what it could do. His power wasn't something simple like granting objects powers like she had originally thought. No, it was the bending of reality.

The chakra beasts, the artifacts, the strange pill that carried magical properties had all been created from his thoughts and ideas. It was similar to her ability to create different dimensions and erase things from existent. The only difference was that Kenji had no control or knowledge of his power.

His body gave off a new type of energy in the form of invisible flames as a byproduct of his soul interacting with the nature chakra in the air.

Kaguya metaphorically reached out a hand and took some of this mysterious power for herself.

Qi, she subconsciously named it, was different from the chakra she had come to know. It felt foreign to her touch almost as if it contained the essence of the person that it belonged to.

She absorbed it into herself and noticed the seal placed on her lose some of their strength for a fraction of a second

"This… could this be what I have been waiting for? With this new energy I might be able to break the seals placed on me," she pondered as she went back to looking at Kenji who had collapsed on the ground with his pets surrounding him in worry.

Her gaze switched to the other test subjects that she had selected to receive a cultivation formula. Out of the thousand she had chosen only a handful had managed survive the initial stages of cultivating. Out of those few, only some showed any talent. The red-haired girl with the panda currently held the most promise, but even she paled in comparison to Kenji.

"I had better choose an appropriate gift, since he did complete his side of the bargain. Now the only question is what to give him. Hmmm?"

* * *

 **A/N: Done.**

 **This chapter is shorter than usual since I'm down with a cold currently.**

 **Someone asked why shinobi don't automatically have a higher at Kenji's shop. The answer is because Kenji wanted to give power to the nobles and civilians by making everyone equal where only money counted.**

 **Now as I was saying the slimes, are actually single celled organisms that absorbed some chakra dust, like amoebas.**

 **Dewdrop is the butterfly, but she is going through an evolution into a Level 2 chakra beast.**

 **Kenji finally gained some spirit roots! Yay! He will now be able to cultivate his soul and stuff.**

 **Qi is going to be the power of one's soul, think of it working similar to aura from RWBY if you don't now much about cultivation novels. I'll get more into in the next chapter so don't feel to put out.**

 **By the way I recommend reading a 'Tales of Demons and Gods' it a graphic novel that deals with cultivation. It's also very funny.**

 **Well until next time. I going to take some medicine and sleep. Bye-bye.**


	23. Ghost Trouble?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references mentioned in this fanfic**

 **A/N: Hey everyone, glad to say that I'm back to full health.**

 **I'm glad that many of you like my last chapter.**

 **To those of you who have also read Tales of Demons and Gods, then you know what I'm talking about. This is actually the novel that pushed me to write this fanfic. I recommend it to anyone who wants to now more about Xianxia culture.**

 **I won't write to much, so here is the new chapter.**

 **Chapter 23**

Hiruzen was growing worried as the seconds passed by.

The report sheets on the village's expenses remained untouched on his desk, just as it did 10 minutes ago.

He bit the wooden mouth piece of his pipe as he looked to the clock.

This was all due to the unsettling feeling that had been plaguing the village for the last couple of days.

Civilians and shinobi had reported strange incidents around the village. Some claimed to have seen dead family members wondering the street during the dark hours of the night. Many said they felt a strange presence following them around.

The police department was also busy with the increase of break-ins in the village. Yet the strange part was that nothing was ever stolen only moved around.

Some of the more superstitious people began to claim that the village was haunted.

Normally Hiruzen would stamp some papers and claim this as another incident caused by chakra beast and let the C.B.A. deal with it. That option however wasn't available as his chief expert in all things chakra beast related had become unreachable as of late.

Three days ago, Moon Artifacts, the Leaf Village's star attraction, had posted a closed sign in front of their gate saying that they would be closed until further notice. Since then, no one has seen either hide nor hair of the small owner.

The Hokage hadn't been worried too much, thinking that Kenji was simply taking some time off to work on his latest products, but it had already been three days. There was no way someone as greedy as Kenji would choose to remain closed for that many days and lose out on profit.

What bugged the Third most however was that these strange incidents correlated with the closing of Moon Artifacts.

"I wouldn't hurt to just check up on him, right?"

Nodding to himself he stood up from his seat and started to make his way out of the room.

 **(Scene change)**

"Come one! This one has to work," Kenji yelled in frustration as he took a bottle of brown hair dye and dumped it over his head. He massaged it furiously into his scalp uncaring that his hands had long since turned a black color. "Arrrrgh!"

He was sitting on a wooden stool with only a wash towel tied around his waist. A large wooden bathtub with steaming water right next to him.

For once, his eyes weren't wrapped in bandages, so he let his golden eyes gaze over his yard unobstructed.

His eyes that would always be overwhelmed by the amount of nature energy in the air had finally been fixed. Now he could focus it on certain places or dismiss it entirely.

The small noble boy waited a couple of minutes before getting off his stool and taking a bucket of water and dumping it on his head.

His hand reached for the mirror placed on the ground and he stared at his reflection before throwing it on the ground.

"Aaarrrgh! That was the strongest dye I had," he screamed as picked up a lock of his waist length silver hair and held it up to his face. "The dye just slid right off!"

Akame hopped to his side and placed a comforting paw on his leg, 'Just give up. Accept that you have white hair… old man.'

The glare that Kenji gave her spelled a long and painful death so she did the wise thing and hopped away.

Sigh.

With a defeated air Kenji sat back down on stool.

When he had awoken three days ago after that strange episode, he had found that his body had changed even further. His once chocolate locks of glorious hair had turned into a pale silver color that reached his waist and sparkled in the sun. His nails had also grown out to look like claws and had become as strong as steel. His canines had also elongated to look like fangs. Finally the purple crescent moon and magenta strips on his cheeks that he gained when under sage mode had become permanently etched onto his skin.

He imagined that this was what Sesshomaru would have looked like as a child.

Kenji however was far from pleased at his changes and took every effort to change himself back to how he used to look like.

He took a metal file and ground down his fangs until they were level to all of his other teeth. Next he got a belt grinder and filed down his nails to normal length. Makeup would have to do for the markings on his face since he didn't want to do anything as drastic yet. It was when he got to his hair that the problem had started.

No matter what dye he used, it refused to stick to his hair for anything longer than a few minutes.

He considered wearing a wig, but that felt like admitting defeat.

Kenji jumped into the tub filled with water, letting the purified water sooth his muscles.

With a mental order he looked at how much spirit energy he had.

 **Chakra: Chunin**

 **Chakra Points: 5,430/5,430**

 **Cultivation: First Stage**

 **Soul Points: 130**

Unfortunately, it wasn't just his appearance that had changed.

Kaguya had tried to explain it to him, but he could only get the basics of it as he was too busy not dying.

Apparently, his soul had grown strong enough to produce its own energy after consuming his purified chakra that had bits of nature chakra mixed in. Again, he didn't know everything, but it was enough to look at things differently.

Kaguya called this new energy qi, which was a lot better than his first idea of calling it soul juice.

He had experimented with this qi a bit and found that it was far different from chakra.

Qi and chakra for instance didn't mix.

While chakra tended to act like gas most of the time, qi felt like water in the way it moved around the body.

Chakra also had a pathway that was very neatly constructed with many tunnels and checkpoints similar to how a subway route worked. Qi on the other hand had a network that looked like tree roots that spread from his center.

What was most surprising was that unlike chakra that was contained only in the pathways, qi saturated all part of his body with the roots acting as supply lines.

He had tried to perform jutsu using qi but found out that they did work.

Qi didn't require hand signs to mold it making it easier to control than chakra but as a downside it couldn't used outside the body.

What it could do however was strengthen his body to a degree that even chakra couldn't do. To test this, he gathered qi in one of his legs and used a senbon needle to pierce his skin only for it to remain unbroken.

Using qi he could enhance his speed, strength, and durability to about half as much as he could during sage mode.

There were also no negative drawbacks if he wasted all of his qi unlike chakra. He would also replenish all of his points after of night of sleep with an extra 5 points being added.

That was all he had managed to figure out for now though.

Kenji almost groaned when he remembered Kaguya telling him that it might be similar to the cultivation techniques in his book.

"Why is it that all of the rabbits I know seem to be obsessed with Xianxia fantasy. First Akame and now Kaguya. Seriously, it shouldn't be possible! …Yet there's no denying that something strange is happening in the world," Kenji muttered with a pensive look on his face before submerging himself further into the bathwater.

He enjoyed this time off more than he would care to admit. Working all of those jobs had become tiring even with the help of shadow clones. He didn't know when he would get a vacation again though.

"Oh right, the Daimyo sent a letter announcing that Madam Shijimi was pregnant. Looks like the Land of Fire will finally have an heir. Sucks for all of those nobles previously eyeing the throne. Good thing I'm not there."

He used chakra control to pull out a hand sized ball of water from the tub, then had it spin, forming the beginning of a rasengan. He used this as an improvised loofa to get rid of all of the dye off his skin.

Kenji could perform the full rasengan if he wanted to, just chose not to as it would lead to unnecessary questions. That and its high chakra consumption made it more trouble than it was worth.

Just as he was relaxing a signal from the front gate informed him of someone entering his property. There was no cause of worry however as there was only one person in the enter village who it could be.

He closed his eyes momentarily as he heard the sound of feet on the cobblestone.

"Amazing Kenji-kun, you're looking like the Second with every passing day," came the shocked voice of the Third.

Kenji opened his eyes and splashed some water in his direction.

"Argh!"

"I'm not in the mood Hokage-sama," the small merchant said as he submerged himself neck deep into the water.

Hiruzen shook the water droplets off his robe, the basket of fruit he was holding in one hand almost forgotten. "I apologize, my boy. I take it there is a story to your sudden change in appearance."

Bubble. Bubble. Bubble.

"I was worried since no one has seen you for the last couple of days," the aged ninja said taking a seat on the wooden stool placing the basket on the floor.

"…There was a minor accident on my part. I've been trying to fix it but nothing seems to be working," Kenji said as he held up a strand of silver hair.

The Third took out his pipe and lit it, "Who would have thought you would go grey at such a young age. I warned you that too much stress would lead to this."

The small boy threw a withering glare.

" _Ahem_. Is there anything I could do to help?"

Kenji shook his head, "No. Not unless you know of a secret jutsu to change hair color."

"I'm afraid not."

"Then no."

Silence spread through the yard, as both just took a moment to enjoy the peaceful scenery.

The Third however remembered his purpose for coming and turned to the small boy, "I don't suppose you have any idea of what's been happening in the village?"

"Huh? Something is happening in the village?" Kenji said with a surprised face, "I've been here for the past 3 days so…"

"As I thought. Well to summaries people have been reporting about strange incidents of things moving around in their homes without anybody touching them. Others claim to hear voices in the middle of the night while other say they feel a presence standing behind them but when they turn to look, they see nothing. The more gullible people claim to be the work of ghosts and ghouls."

"Oh, like the one hanging off your shoulder?"

"What?"

"…What?"

The Third looked to his left shoulder, he thought it had felt cold lately, but there was nothing.

"I'm sorry I think I misheard you, can you say that one more time."

"…you know what. I think I _was_ mistaken. Glad you could drop by, you can see yourself out right," Kenji said as he let himself sink fully into the water's depth.

That however wasn't going to fly this time, as the Hokage quickly shot up from his seat and reached a hand into the water to pull him up.

Kenji dodged the first attempt and those following it with expert precision.

Getting tired of this game, Hiruzen tipped over the entire tub, letting the water and Kenji spill onto the green lawn.

Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

Kenji flopped around like a fish, forgetting that he could breath air for a second. He laid still before he stood up and dusted himself.

"Was that really necessary?" he asked crossing his arms, the towel miraculously still preserving his modesty.

"I don't know, but why don't you tell me by what you meant first?" the Third said with a glare.

The small boy gave a sigh as he tried to ring his hair of any excess water, "I'm sure it's nothing, but I can see this weird blob like energy hanging around you."

He focused his eyes to allow him to see the nature chakra in the air to get a clearer picture. What had looked like a transparent smudge before gained a sinister grey color with a face that resembled that one picture, the Scream.

He was unable to hold back the grimace, something that the Third had caught, "What? What do you see?"

"Sorry. It's just really ugly, it looks like a screaming head that's missing it's eyes and tongue," Kenji explained.

The Hokage couldn't help the chill that ran up his spine, "And it's on my shoulder? Any idea what it could be?"

"No, but now that I'm looking at it, I can sense some type of yin energy coming off it."

He switched to sage mode in a second using his store of qi, "Yeah I can definitely sense some type of malicious intent coming from it."

"Well do you have any way to get rid of it?" Hiruzen said getting inpatient at the small boy's carefree attitude.

"Hmm? You know, I think I just might? Let's go inside, it's pretty draft here."

 **(Scene change)**

Kenji, now dressed in a white yukata, walked into his storage room with the Hokage following behind.

"I remember making some exorcism talismans awhile back, but since no one seemed to want them and I couldn't find a use for them, I just kind of forgot about them," Kenji said as he looked inside of a box filled with old talismans.

"Why do you have exorcism talismans anyway?" Hiruzen couldn't help but ask as he looked over shelves of unsold merchandise.

"Well I mean, I am a monk, I thought I would need to perform an exorcism someday?"

The Third raised an eyebrow at that, "You? A monk? Why would you-"

"Taxes."

"Ahh. Say no more."

"I even have official documentation for my shrine out front thanks to the Daimyo," he added as he opened another box.

"Really? What did you call it?"

"Official it's called the: Temple of Red Moon Goddess, she who hold domain over chakra, the moon, order, and the afterlife."

"And unofficially?"

"Goddess that gets me a 25% decrease when I do my taxes. Ah! I found it," Kenji said as he took out a stack of talisman tied together with some twine.

Taking one out, he activated it and threw it toward the Hokage's shoulder.

As soon as it touched the blob like being it released an electrical current that wrapped around it causing it to fall to the floor.

The Third was at first shocked but as he looked at the ground he could now see what had been plaguing him. The blue electrical currents did a good job of outlining the things body even if he couldn't see it. It was wriggling around as if it was in some kind of pain.

"So this was it huh?"

"Yep," Kenji said as he stuck a few of those talismans on a wooden spiked club.

Hiruzen noticed this and couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"

"Huh? What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going to finish it off?" the small boy said giving his club a few test swings.

"Are you sure that's a good idea. If it really is a ghost, doesn't it deserve more respect?"

"Hey! Who's the monk here?" Kenji retorted as he walked up to the 'ghost', "Plus what's the worst it could do? Haunt me?"

Without further ado, Kenji began to rain blow after blow on the defenseless ghost. Every attack with the club caused fresh sparks to course over its body, lighting it up even further.

No mercy was given as Kenji took out his frustration over the last couple of days onto the perfect target.

15 minutes went by before Kenji stopped his assault, leaving the ghost with almost no energy left. It's being looked to be flickering on and off.

Wiping imaginary sweat off his brow, Kenji smiled, "Goddess, I needed that?"

The Third who had watched everything squatted down to take a closer look at the pitiful being that was too weak to even move anymore, "Is it dead?"

"I would think so, with it being a ghost and all?"

"No, I mean, did you take care of it?"

"One more whack should do the trick," Kenji informed him.

"So why did you stop?"

Bending down Kenji placed a hand on the surface of the ghost, "Here touch this? Do you feel it?"

Hiruzen did as he was told, but his hand went right through without feeling anything, "No, I don't feel anything?"

"Exactly, _you_ can't, but I do," Kenji said taking his hand back, "It seems to be a mixture of some unknown energy and nature chakra."

"Nature chakra? Do you mean to say that this thing uses the same energy that you and Jiraiya use when you enter sage mode?" the Third asked while stroking his beard.

The small boy nodded as he picked up the invisible creature with one arm and walked out of the room gesturing for the old man to follow him.

They walked into the shop and to a small wooden shrine placed high in the corner of the room. It had a bottle of sake and some incense sticks there as tribute.

"I want to test something," Kenji said as he sat cross-legged and stared at the shrine in concentration.

It only took a second, for Kenji's consciousness to be transported into Kaguya's throne room. The only difference this time was that he was followed by someone else. The person in question was a thirty something year old man that looked to be injured and scared out of his mind.

Kenji ignored the man for now as he took a kneeling position and bowed his head, "Kaguya-sama."

Kaguya waved him off as her eyes took on a thoughtful expression as she observed their new guest. With a single wave of her hand the mysterious man froze and was lifted into the air.

"I already know why you have come. You wish to know if I made these creatures correct?"

"Yes."

The large Rabbit Goddess shook her head, "I am sorry to say but these are not my creations, although I might have some idea."

"Anything would be helpful?" Kenji said.

Kaguya spun the man in the air for several seconds, twisting him this way and that way until finally she opened her mouth again, "It is as I thought."

"Hm?"

"You might be unaware but your awakening into being a cultivator-"

"Urrrrggg!"

"released a large amount of qi into the surrounding area. Normally this wouldn't be a cause for concern, the problem is your location. This village's land has been tainted by war and conflict for such a long time that it has deeply imbedded itself into the very earth itself. Souls that were previously unable to pass on were able to absorb some of this qi and mixed it with the nature energy they had collected from being part of the earth to give them these forms."

"So in simple terms, they really are ghosts."

"Yes," Kaguya said as she made the poor soul bend backwards until it looked like his back would break.

"Is there anything you can do to fix it?"

The giant woman thought about it before she snapped her fingers and two orbs of energy shot out of the man, "I can take away their nature energy and qi. This would cause them to pass on automatically since there is nothing holding them to the mortal plane anymore."

Kenji saw as the form of the man began to grow dimmer and dimmer. The man looked to have a peaceful smile on his face, before he disappeared entirely.

"Here," Kaguya said as she sent the orb containing qi toward the small boy.

He could feel his qi reserve grow by what had to be 5 points.

The Goddess gained a smile at this, "Should you find anymore of these lost souls, I would ask you to exorcise them in my name."

"So… I get their qi, you get their nature energy, and they get to pass on? Sounds like a win-win all around."

"I am pleased you see it that way?" Kaguya said as she held up her hand with her index finger and middle finger together, "Then allow me to show the way to call upon my divinity to exorcise them."

Kenji almost faced palmed as Kaguya went into her chuunibyou mode again.

 **(Scene change)**

For Hiruzen not even a second had passed by since Kenji had sat down, so he was mystified when the ghost disappeared suddenly.

The small white-haired boy opened his eyes and looked at the old man, "Looks like it really was a ghost."

"What happened to it?"

"It passed on?" Kenji said standing up.

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. What, were you expecting something flashy?"

The Third sighed and shook his head.

Kenji retrieved his exorcism club and walked out of the house and to his front gate with the Hokage trailing after him.

He stuck his head out of the gate only briefly to see the situation outside.

"Wow," the small boy said with a shocked expression as he pulled back his face.

"Oh? What did you see?" the Third asked curiously, "Did you happen to spot another of those ghosts?"

Kenji said nothing as he took out 10 exorcism talismans from his bundle and handed them to the Hokage, "Here, throw them in any direction?"

Getting a bad feeling the Third walked through the gate and launched the slips of paper in random direction. 7 of those talisman lit up and captured invisible beings in an electrical net.

His face turned into a grimace, "Oh dear."

 **(Time skip)**

Five days had gone by since the Third was made aware of the villages newest problem. In a rare show of decisiveness, he took quick action, and called his expert in the subject and tasked them with the job of dealing with it.

That action nearly caused him to be kicked out of Kenji's home by the very unamused boy. However after much political maneuvering, groveling, they were able to work out a deal.

Ghost and other supernatural beings would be placed inside of the Chakra Beast Association encyclopedia for starters. Kenji would also be recompensated for every ghost he exorcised as long as he had proof. He would also be able to use village resources if need be.

Beside the monetary reward, Kenji was also allowed to choose a single jutsu from the forbidden scroll. Normally he would bargain for a better deal, but he only really needed one at the moment.

Kenji was busy most of the time now, working on his shop, exorcising ghost and training with qi.

However, it was exactly because of this that he was able to make some progress on his M.A.I.D project. He could finally extend the duration of the chakra beast's soul with the use of qi. The only problem now was the vessel he was using, as they simple couldn't contain so much energy and would explode. That however was for another time.

Currently the Third was looking over at his guest with narrowed eyes trying to spot any form of deception, but found none, just a very tired and worried man.

The Suna shinobi looked at him with hope.

The scroll asking for aid lay opened on his desk. It would seem that the Village Hidden in the Sand also had their share of trouble concerning the chakra beasts, but unlike them, they were only just scraping through.

The message spoke of the Wind Daimyo's desire to form a branch of the Chakra Beast Association located his country.

It didn't take a genius to see the political shit storm that this caused between the Daimyo and the Sand Village.

Still Hiruzen couldn't simply ignore them, since they currently had a treaty no matter how fragile it was.

Opening a drawer, he pushed a button hidden inside. A message would arrive at the Anbu headquarters shortly asking them to bring Kenji to his office. The button was recently installed but he was surprised to find just how useful it was.

 **(Scene Change)**

Kenji in his Master Shu disguise smiled as he watched his shikigami dolls chase the group of ghosts around the street.

One of the ghosts tried to run into an alley, only for one of his shikigami to perform a flying tackle allowing his friends to dogpile the ghost.

The civilians that were passing by giggled at their cute actions, seeing one of his shikigami running around the village had now become common place with the emergence of ghosts. They were particularly popular with the children of the village.

They had exorcism talisman plastered to their bodies to allow them to interact with the ghosts.

They took the trapped ghost and threw him into an iron box with the rest until Kenji could take them all back to his place to exorcism them in private, because there was no way he could do it in public without killing himself in embarrassment.

Just as his shikigami captured another ghost, a Cat masked Anbu appeared behind him.

Kenji released a sigh, "I take it he's calling for me again?"

"…"

"Mind telling me what it is for this time?"

"…"

"I'm not going to like it am I?"

* * *

 **A/N: Hello all you people :)**

 **As you can all see, the next arc in the story is going to begin. Yay!**

 **Also ghost and other phenomenon will start to appear since they are part of Wuxia culture. There is this neat thing called a ghost cultivator, just keep that in mind.**

 **Kenji is also a monk, and can now call on the divinity of Kaguya. The Red Moon Goddess is the name of his diety since he can't say Kaguya's name outloud, else when she does appear people will be looking at him for answers.**

 **Random ninja 1: "Kaguya?"**

 **Random ninja 2: "Hey isn't that the name of Kenji's god deity?"**

 **Random ninja 1: "Oh shit! You're right?"**

 **Random ninja 2: "Well we better interrogate him just to be safe."**

 **Being associate with the person wanting to enslave the entire world isn't the best idea after all.**

 **I hope I explained cultivation okay. I also want to point out that Kenji is the exception not the standard. I'll write what the other cultivators are like as a comparison later in the story.**

 **Cultivation will be seen as a bloodline limit, as children of cultivators will find it easier to survive and learn cultivation techniques.**

 **Well until next time.**

 **Also, I'm posting a new Harry Potter/ Gamer story. It's something I've been working out when I have writers block for this story, and would appreciate it if you checked it out.**


	24. The First Dungeon Appears

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references in this fanfic.**

 **Hey everyone! So I answered some questions through PM but I figured I'd answer them hear for everyone.**

 **So first question was if there were ghost in other villages. Currently no, since the ghost appeared because of the qi that Kenji released when he became a cultivator. As more cultivators begin to emerge, so will the number of ghosts.**

 **The Inuyasha swords will make an appearance later on since some of you have been requesting it for some time.**

 **Cultivation could be treated as a bloodline limit since it makes descendants have an easier time cultivating.**

 **Sorry to those that wanted Naruto to be a cultivator, but that's not going to happen. More on that later, but the simple reason is that the tailed beasts are already considered Nature chakra cause of the God Tree, meaning that when they cultivate it would just go directly to them rather than their hosts.**

 **More questions will be at the bottom.**

 **PS: I recommend listening to Chinese EDM music. YouTube has some good videos that show a bit of wuxia elements so I hope you give it a try if you ever feel bored.**

 **Here's the new chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 24**

"Argg!" Kenji grunted in discomfort as he traveled along the sandy dunes. He was riding on top of Drago, his velociraptor, on an improvised saddle.

The beard he was wearing was starting to become itchy, but he ignored it the best he could.

Behind him was an escort of Leaf Shinobi, guarding his shadow clone disguised as his civilian persona while he took the role of Master Shu. Seeing as they couldn't use horses and wheels to cross the sandy desert, they were forced to carry the wooden carriage with only their hands and feet.

A few days ago, the Hokage had called him to his office, and told Kenji of the Wind Daimyo's request.

As anyone could imagine, Kenji was quick to decline. He was just barely holding it together from all the paper work he had to deal with in just the Land of Fire, and now they were expecting him to basically double it.

But apparently things weren't that simple, as the Wind Daimyo had already talked to the Fire Daimyo, and the two had fostered some sort of deal.

Kenji already figure what it could be, with the sudden announcements of Lady Shijimi's pregnancy and all of those restless nobles.

As a result Kenji, couldn't curse out the Hokage, since event the old man looked every bit reluctant to let him leave the village.

Still, this was an important mission and it had to be completed at all costs.

The small merchant boy was given a few days to prepare. The Third had also stated that he would go with him, as this wasn't just a simple matter but concerned the village as well.

"I hope the shop is doing okay?" Kenji thought out loud, remember who he had left in charge.

 **(Scene Change)**

Lin-Lin puffed up her chest in pride as she looked at the customers in the shop, a golden key hanging from her collar.

Her eyes were sharp as they looked for any troublemakers, ready to teach them a lesson as the temporary boss of Moon Artifacts.

Yawn~

 **(Scene Change)**

He had told the pesky Pekingese that she was allowed to eat anyone caught stealing or causing trouble. Not that it was necessary as he had left plenty of shadow clones and his ground had an automatic defense system that would punish all those breaking his rules. Those cards weren't just for show after all, they had some hidden add-ons too. People should really learn to read the fine-print.

Akame and Drago were the only chakra beasts that he had taken with him, since he needed the rest to guard his shop.

Drago was excited for the change of scenery, as well as the chance to test himself against other chakra beasts. Akame sat with his shadow clone as protection, since despite being reinforced, it was still weak.

Kenji held up a fist, and everyone stopped marching.

He took out his bow and readied three arrows.

100 feet in front of them, five shark fins emerged from the sand heading in their direction.

"Really, sand sharks? I'm really starting to hate the desert," he said with a scowl as he released the bow string.

His aim was impeccable even with their high speed. The power of the arrows made it look like he had thrown grenades rather than simple wooden sticks as the pesky beasts where blown high into the air and away from cover.

Kenji launched another arrow, only this one cackled with lightning chakra. It zig-zagged throw the air, hitting all of the air prone bodies at once.

They dropped like dead flies, a smoking hole through each of their heads.

The fat boy gave the signal and a ninja from the group left their position to collect the bodies.

This was non-other than Anko Mitarashi. She sealed the bodies with the use of a space ring and went back to her spot.

That was just one of the many pesky creatures running around the Land of Wind.

Brown Sand Sharks, Red Dune Lizards, Wind Vultures, Sink Worm, Cactus Spines, were just a few of the chakra beasts that their group had encountered, and they were barely on their second day.

The only bright side was that Kenji had a high resistance to heat on account of his cultivation so the Sun didn't bother him as much.

 **(Time Skip)**

"Damn! Damn! Damn!" Kenji cursed as their camp was being invaded by what could only be flying piranhas.

He slapped one that was going for his face.

"What the heck was the lookout even doing?!" he shouted, taking out a kunai and started to kill the pack of what had to be 500 fishes.

They nocked over the torch light, plunging their makeshift camp into darkness.

They couldn't use any large jutsu on account of how close they were to them, so they could only rely on their melee attacks.

The Third looked unimpressed as he took care of any that came close to him, at such outrages speeds that it looked like they were just dropping dead. He was guarding his clone, Akame the lazy ass was still fast asleep.

One of them managed to clip the side of his ear, causing a tick mark to appear on his temple.

"Everyone close your eyes!" he shouted taking out a flash tag.

The area was covered in a bright intense light, causing everyone to blink away the spots despite having their eyes shut tight.

Around them was the mob of piranhas splashing around on the sand, stunned from the sudden light.

"Good thinking Shu," one of the shinobi complimented him.

Kenji nodded as everyone began to finish off the flying pests before they could recover.

Now that they had some time to rest, Kenji collected one of the fishes to study as his clone did the same. They were perhaps 11 inches long, with rough reptilian skin, razor sharp fins, and needle like teeth. They had white pearly eyes making him think that they must have some sort of heat vision that allowed them to see prey.

"Let's call them Needles," his clone said as it began to draw the chakra beast into a journal.

"Ah, I found Akira," Anko announced as she brought the mangled form of the Sand Shinobi. He was covered in leach like worms that looked like little cacti.

Seeing as Master Shu, was the designated medic, it was his job to deal with all the injured.

He stomped his way to the shinobi's prone form and began to detach the Cactus Spines before they could suck out anymore water from the man. As he throw them behind him, Drago was quick to scoop them up and eat them, unbothered by their spiny bodies.

Taking out a canteen of water, he let the severely dehydrated man drink while he finished healing his wounds.

"T-thanks. Th-they just came out of nowhere."

Kenji didn't say anything, as he was beyond annoyed.

The only reason why he didn't sense them himself, was because Kaguya had called him to discuss an important matter, which he didn't even get to hear as he was woken up by the sound of yelling.

"I think it would be best for us to continue," the Third Hokage suggested, "If we leave now, then we should make it to the Sand Village by mid-morning."

"I agree," his clone stepped forward.

No one argued as they were all wanted to get out of the desert. They had been attacked almost every hour since they began their journey, and most of them were low on chakra as it is.

The tents and other equipment were quickly placed inside of a space ring.

"These are really useful," Anko said as she touched her newly purchased ring from the Third Floor in admiration, "Now I have plenty of dango for the trip."

 **(Scene change)**

They made it to Suna just as the first rays of sunlight greeted the village. The only one that had any amount of rest was Kenji's clone and the Hokage, who were being carried.

Despite running for several days at jonin speed, Drago was still rearing to go, but that was to be expected of a Level 2 chakra beast.

As they entered the valley to get to the village, they could spot the sand shinobi stationed on watch.

They showed them their papers and they were quickly let in, or that might have been because Drago growled at them.

Almost immediately Kenji sensed the negative emotions coming from the village.

"This place really could use the help," Anko said out loud.

Kenji couldn't help but agree. Suna was completely isolated, with sand surrounding them for miles. Since they couldn't grow their own supply of food unlike Konoha, they relied heavily on import. However with the sudden appearance of chakra beasts, the roads leading to the village had become even more hazardous, which resulted in a lack of merchants and customers. Not only that, but the increase in danger had also caused an increase in prices.

The Land of Wind was mostly dessert, which meant a low population compared to other nations, but all of this just meant that chakra beast had grown more rampant.

If things continued, then it could lead to a collapse of Suna in a few years.

However, all of that could wait until they had a decent rest.

 **(Scene change)**

It was Mid-day, when someone finally knocked on their hotel room to tell them that a meeting would be held the next day.

"I'm suddenly very glad I live in the Leaf," Kenji in his original form said as he stretched on his bed like a cat.

"I happy to hear that," the Third said from his spot in one of the rooms seats, smoking his pipe.

Kenji ran his fingers over his silver hair, still unable to turn it back to normal, and looked at the ceiling of his room, "You do have a plan for tomorrow right, Hokage-sama?"

"Of course, Kenji-kun."

"Let's hope everything goes smoothly," the small boy said as he used his stored qi to enter sage mode.

Immediately he could sense everyone in the village, including an angsty red-head playing around with two other- make that one other person.

Kenji would rather not interact with Gaara if he could help it, not because he was scared, but simply because he didn't want to deal with any unnecessary problems if he could help it.

His search proved useful as he noticed a rather large amount of chakra beasts hidden around the village.

Rubbing his temples, Kenji gave a long sigh, "This place is in serious need of an exterminator?"

"That many I take it?"

"I'm going to have to ask Anko to help me make a poison for them," the small boy said as he applied a Monkey Talisman, turning into Master Shu in the blink of an eye.

"Don't cause too much trouble," the Third said.

Kenji quickly left the room and located Anko, how looked like she was in the middle of some pill refining.

"You know, I don't appreciate my pill furnace being used to dango," he said in a deadpanned expression as he noticed the dango ingredients beside her.

"Ahh!" she let out a startled sound, causing her to lose concentration turning the dango ball inside to turn into a pill of ash.

"If I had known this was what you were going to use it for, I would have thought twice before selling it to you," Kenji said crossing his chubby hands.

Anko had the decency of looking embarrassed at being caught, "Hey there Boss."

Kenji shook his head before putting it out of his head, "Forget about it, we have work to do."

"What are we going to do?"

"There's a large colony of chakra beasts underneath the village, we're going to need to make a poison."

"Poisons huh? I good at those," the Snake Mistress said as she stood up, she wasn't wearing her usual jacket and only in her chainmail shirt.

"Not when it concerns chakra beasts," he told her, "Unfortunately it is a very rare case when a single poison works on more than one chakra beast. Therefore, each beast needs a poison specifically tailored to them. So, I'm going to be teaching you a little about potion making," Kenji told her as he took out two cauldrons from his space ring.

"Eh? Really, I thought potion making was supposed to be like super advanced?" the purple haired woman said tilting her head.

"It is, but I think you are advanced enough to at least try it."

"Awe, that's the cutest thing you've said to me," she said pulling him into a hug.

When she finally released him, she looked at his face that was the picture of impassive, "Eh? Not even a little red? Come on, give me something at least."

Kenji made an exaggerated gesture of rolling his eyes before turning to the door and walking.

"H-hey? Wait up!" she said as she got her coat and chased after him.

 **(Scene change)**

"Right, so just crush the fire lily together with the glowing moss and add the mixture into the pot," Kenji instructed as Anko did as she was told.

Her cauldron gave off green sparks, before it turned into a bright metallic green.

"Looks good," Kenji said as he coated a senbon in the finished liquid and then reached for a sack that was moving around wildly.

He opened the top and reached inside, using qi to harden his skin as he took out a large red scorpion the size of his face. Its tail was swinging around wildly, trying to spray him with acid that was strong enough to melt flesh of the bone.

Kenji took the needle coated in poison and stabbed it into one of it's segmented joint making sure not to kill it.

However no sooner than he had put it in did it stop moving, showing the effectiveness of the poison.

"So, do I pass?"

"Yep, that's a pass," Kenji said sounding mildly impressed.

"Yes!" Anko cheered as she jumped up in joy, causing her breasts to do a little jiggle.

Kenji smiled as well as he took out a completely white silk robe from his ring.

 **Alchemist Robe +10**

 **Quality: Low-Human**

 **Defense: 240**

 **\+ 700**

 **10+: Pill refining and alchemy potions are 10% more likely to succeed.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 340**

The kunoichi caught it when it was thrown at her and she looked down at the small boy in question.

"That robe is proof that you have become a full-fledged alchemist," Kenji elaborated before handing her a golden pin of a mortar and pestle.

She looked stunned, "That's it? That was all I needed to do?"

"Of course, the perquisite for being an alchemist is learning 100 pill formulas, knowing 1,000 ingredients, and making 1 potion, all of which you accomplished."

"So, am I a master now?" the purple haired woman said as she took off her trench coat and replaced it with the silk robe, "Ohhh? It's so soft. It's like being caressed by clouds. Master Anko huh?"

"Master? What are you talking about?" Kenji asked, "All this means is that you aren't a trainee anymore. You have a long way to go before you can call yourself an Alchemy Master."

She gave a defeated air, "Ah, I should have known."

Kenji shook his head, "Of course it wasn't going to be that easy. You can call me Grand Master from now on. You can also go around tell others that you are my student if you want."

He took out a stack of books that must have weight at least 50 pounds and handed them to the Snake Mistress, "Here are some more books for you to study. They have more detailed information as well as more advanced pill formulas."

"Oh boy," she replied in a joyless voice.

 **(Conference Room)**

"So, we are all in accord," a councilman said as he received various nods around the room.

The only how didn't nod was Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, who had his arms crossed with a scowl on his face.

"Kazekage-sama? Is there something you disagree with?" the councilman asked.

Kenji and the Third gave each other a looks, that showed just how much they were enjoying the show.

"Nothing. If that is all, I will be leaving now," the man said as he stood up and left without another word.

The council murmured to themselves.

"I apologize Hokage-sama, Yamamoto-sama. The Fourth has not being feeling well lately."

"No need, I can understand that this must be difficult for everyone," Hiruzen said with a smile.

Now that all the documents had been signed, everyone was breathing a little easier.

"Then, I suppose we should take care of the nest of red acid scorpions as starters," Kenji said adjusting the bandages around his eyes. He was using a Monkey Talisman to appear as his normal brown-haired form.

"It would be for the best. How many shinobi do you think you will need?" The councilor asked.

"About three dozen should be fine."

"That many!? I didn't think things would be so bad."

"Their threat level isn't that big, the problem is that they built a catacomb of tunnels underneath the village. It would be nice to have any sensors if possible."

"I'll get right on that."

"Okay, I'll send over all the information we have collected on the chakra beast over later."

After a few more pleasantries Kenji and the Hokage finally left the conference room.

"You handled yourself rather well," The Third said glancing to Kenji.

The small boy shrugged his shoulders, "It's all thanks to Madam Shijimi and her lessons."

"Oh yes, did you hear that she is expecting?"

He nodded as they turned a corner, "Yes, I received a letter last week. I've already started making my gift for the them. You?"

"No, I'll have to start looking as soon as we get back. My, how time goes by," Hiruzen said in a happy tone.

"Well that's life for you."

 **(Kazekage Tower)**

Crash!

Rasa slammed his hands on his desk, causing indentations to appear on the wood.

He was angry at the council sure, but he was more angry at himself for letting things get this bad.

He had sacrificed everything for the village, but it never seemed to be enough.

"This is all because of those blasted beasts," the man said running a hand over his hair.

It hurt his pride more than anything else to go begging to the Leaf for help, but the decision was out of his hands.

With a defeated air around him he started to pick up the papers that had been scattered.

"What's this? I don't recall seeing this before," Rasa said as he picked up what looked like a rubix's cube made out of wood, with different symbols on the side.

He didn't notice the white rabbit outside his window that disappeared in shower of lights.

 **(Scene change)**

"That's right make sure to get every single one of them," Kenji advised as he oversaw the destruction of the scorpion nest, "we don't want them escaping to the surface."

He was helping out in his own way by healing those that had gotten injured by the acid. His clone disguised as Master Shu was cutting them apart effortlessly with his umbrella sword.

The sand shinobi were giving their all to reclaim their village once more.

The special poison that Kenji had made proved invaluable as the scorpions not only had a resistance to heat but also most normal poisons.

 **Ice Senbon +12**

 **Quality: Low-human**

 **Attack: 235**

 **+360**

 **10+: 25% chance of causing ice damage**

 **12+: Can be controlled remotely from a distance.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 80**

Kenji took out a glass senbon needle from his sleeve, its surface giving off an icy aura.

He flicked it towards a group of scorpions trying to escape into a side tunnel.

The upgraded weapon pierced their hardened exoskeleton with easy. The needles special ability would turn some into ice statues as soon as it exited their bodies.

After it was finished killing the last one it returned to Kenji's outstretched hand.

After an hour of fighting, they had managed to clear the northern catacombs. They collected the corpses of the beasts and burned the nests into ashes.

The rest would have to wait until Kenji could make more of his poison.

Just as some where getting ready to celebrate their recent victory, a familiar voice spoke in Kenji's mind.

' _ **The first key has been opened.'**_

Kenji didn't question it as he stood up from his seat and called out to everyone in a panic, "Everyone get out of here now!"

No sooner than he said that did the tunnels around them start to shake uncontrollably.

They didn't need any further reason as they all made a break for the exit as fast as their feet could take them.

When they reached the surface, they saw that the entire village was being affected by the powerful earthquake. In the short time that they were inside the sky had turned dark and with thunder booming.

"D-do you think the scorpions collapsed the tunnels underneath the village," one of shinobi asked in worry.

"Some how I doubt that," a colleague said as they pointed at the massive pillar of light off in the distance.

Everyone was stunned as a white blinding tower of energy connected the sky and earth.

Kenji looked at it with a conflicted expression, "I'm really starting to hate the desert."

 **(Five minutes prior)**

With a final twist, Rasa solved the wooden puzzle.

Normally he was never one to care about something so trivial, but the puzzle box had been calling out to him since he had first seen it, almost like a voice in the back of his head was telling him that it needed to be solved.

He placed the wooden cube on his desk and stared at it in thought.

Click.

The box gave an ominous sound as the runes on its side began to glow white with power.

He heard a thunderous boom in the far of distance and when he turned to look outside, he saw a pillar of light shoot up into the sky.

"…"

 **(Scene change)**

Gaara looked at the light with mild interest.

Shukaku had grown straggly silent which made the red head wonder if it knew what this was.

 **(Scene change)**

Dozens of miles away from the village, the ground shook as an Egyptian styled city rose out of the ground like some unseen beast.

Pillars, houses, temples and plants began to grow rapidly.

The most eye-catching building however was the gigantic pyramid that towered over everything. It had numerous runes that each glowed with power.

At the very top of this structure was a crystal that shown with limitless power, as it sent a beacon of light into the sky above it, getting the attention of everyone for miles away, both human and beasts.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading. Now to continue where I left off.**

 **Kenji isn't opposed to helping Suna as long as it benefits him. Again he isn't a stereotypical protagonist that will help everyone and their grandmother out of the goodness of his heart. He understands that he can't help everyone no matter how hard he tries.**

 **To those wondering about rabbit themed items, all I can say is 'Beware the Rabbit Sect!'**

 ***Random rabbit pops out wielding carrot nunchucks before disappearing a puff of smoke**

 **Another thing to note is that of course other people are experimenting with alchemy. Currently there are thousands of people inspired from Kenji's novels and the strange new plants that keep popping out. It was kind of Kenji's intention for people to start experimenting by themselves. He purposely opened Pandora's box after all.**

 **I like that a lot of you are really thinking outside of the box with your suggestions. The ectoplasm extraction machine caused me to chuckle.**

 **So this was a short chapter to act as a prelude to the next arc that will deal with Kenji leading a group to investigate the first ever dungeon.**

 **Not much to explain so until next time.**


	25. Fun in the Sun

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references mentioned in this fanfic.**

 **A/N: Hello everyone, I'm back. So personal stuff came up, nothing serious, but still important so I've been unable to update lately.**

 **Anywyas I want to thank everyone that asked me if I was okay.**

 **Fmwave**

 **Wassup**

 **Thanks again.**

 **Now no more stalling, here's the new chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 25**

The striking of a hammer sounded through the empty workshop, a hunched figure with a face mask standing over an anvil.

"Kenji-kun, you can't keep doing this. It's been 3 days already, a meeting is being held later today," the Third Hokage pleaded from the doorway as he saw the small boy busy at work.

"Not listening~ I'm ignoring you~" came the singsong reply.

Hiruzen gave a sigh at the boy's childness.

The Kazekage had declared a village wide lockdown on the first day of the mysterious light, causing the Leaf shinobi to stay inside the village.

Kenji hadn't said a single word as he marched to the nearest blacksmith and forcefully took over the shop, kicking everyone out in the process.

Stepping inside of the blazing room he looked to the table of newly created equipment, some of which looked familiar while other were totally alien to him.

Kenji tempered a piece of cherry red metal into a vat of oil causing flames to spout out.

Hiruzen picked up a staff from the table. It was 6 feet long, the wooden shaft was painted a nice sky blue with engravings of snowflakes, a blue crystal with a green center was placed at one end of the staff, and despite the sweltering surroundings, it was cool to the touch.

Placing it back on the table he saw what looked like a bracer with some sort of launching mechanism built in.

Next were stacks of different talismans, though their exact purpose were unknown to him, he was sure it would be something surprising. Neither him or Jiraiya could figure out exactly how they worked or even said, as the symbols used were something foreign to both of them.

Moving to the end, he spotted the smallest thing on the table, a domino-sized piece of polished jade with the same strange lettering that the talismans had.

"There, all done!" Kenji exclaimed as he held up his latest masterpiece over his head.

 **Dragon Cannon**

 **Quality: Mid-Human**

 **Attack: 1200**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 100**

It was a red cylindrical metal tube about 5 feet in length and 1 foot in diameter with one end sealed off. It had two handles to hold it with, one at the unopened end and another in the middle which had a built-in trigger. There were two small slit going through the side of the tube at the very end with a handle meant to hold a scroll. The open end had a mouth piece of a bronze dragon head looking like it was in mid-roar.

Walking by, the Third gave it a once over, "Oh, that looks mighty impressive, Kenji-kun."

Kenji smiled as he stared at his latest creation in pride.

As the name said, it was a cannon that he had created. Sure, there was already something similar in the world, but what he had created was miles ahead of anything so far. Unlike the primitive cannons used in this time period, that still relied on gunpowder, his cannon used a mixture of seals and talismans to launch projectiles out of the end at blinding speeds. It was also capable of sending a burst of chakra if the situation called for it.

Taking a cleaning cloth, he polished the dragon head, bringing it to a shine, "I guess there isn't any point in delaying it any longer. What time is the meeting sir?"

"In two hours from now," Hiruzen informed the small shinobi.

Placing his newly made equipment in a storage ring he rewrapped his bandages around his eyes and summoned a talisman-clone of Master Shu, "Then we better get to it."

 **(Council Meeting)**

It was worse than they expected.

Both Kenji and the Third exchanged looks from their seats against the wall, serving only as temporary advisors.

The tension in the room was almost palpable as one of the shinobi councilmen reported their latest investigation into the strange city.

Finally, after much debating one of the councilmen chose to direct attention to the chief of all things weird, Kenji in other words. "Perhaps, we should ask the thoughts of someone that is more versed in such matters? What are your thoughts Yamamoto-sama?"

Everyone turned to see what he would say.

Frowning Kenji chose his words carefully, "None of this makes much sense. So far, all of the scout sent to explore the city have disappeared without a trace or were grievously injured by the chakra beasts that have migrated there. However, what really concerns me is that pyramid at the center. Even from this distance I can feel its energy in the air, meaning that whatever is inside must be powerful at the very least."

Standing up the small boy walked over to the table that contained the samples they had retrieved on their expedition. He picked up pictures showing the entrance of a temple covered in hieroglyphs.

"These symbols on the wall, appear to be a form of written language, a fairly old one at that. But what I would like to point out is this drawing," he pulled up one of the pictures and handed it to a councilman.

It was a wall painting that showed a man dressed in gold being lowered into a coffin surrounded by riches around him and a blue glowing diamond.

As the councilman passed it around Kenji continued, "This picture leads me to believe that the large structure in the center isn't just some temple like we initially believed, rather it seems to be the burial place of some long-forgotten Daimyo."

"Hmm, that is an interesting theory. Do you have anything to back this up though?"

Kenji shrugged his shoulders, "This is all pure speculation of course, but there is something that caught my eye?"

Walking back to the table Kenji grabbed what looked to be a stone brick that had been worn down by the passage of time.

He then slammed it on the ground with enough force to break it into small pieces.

Everyone looked confused to why he had done it before Kenji shocked them even more as he looked through the scattered pieces for something, and once he did, he held it up for all too see.

"Oh my kami!"

"I-is that-"

"GOLD!"

Kenji made a bitter smile as he held the domino sized piece of gold in his hand, "Apparently whoever this past Daimyo was, he was wealthy enough to have gold pieces placed into every brick of his tomb, and if this is just on the outside, I can only imagine what sort of treasures the inside holds. It's actually making me angry just thinking about it."

Handing the gold piece to one of the councilmen Kenji took back his seat.

The councilmen were busy discussing this latest information among themselves, both Kenji and the Third completely forgotten in the background.

Hiruzen glanced at the boy who looked to be shaking in rage, "Calm yourself Kenji-kun."

"It's just so maddening to find that there was a whole city of gold buried under the sand and the Sand Village is just going to claim it like that."

The Third facepalmed at the reason for the boy's anger, even if he did feel equally as bitter. Konoha was on the way to recovery but it was still far from fully healed.

"How _did_ you know gold was inside the brick?"

Tapping his nose, Kenji explained, "My sense of money is so strong that I could practically smell a profit a mile away?"

Apparently, the thought of buried treasure was enough to make some forget about the hidden dangers of the Tomb in favor of riches. The Kazekage was unsurprisingly the most vocal of these people.

From the emotions that Kenji was reading, he could guess who was the person that had summoned the ruin in the first place.

Kenji might have had a hand in constructing the dungeons, but that didn't mean that he knew everything about them. Kaguya had just made him design some of the traps and weapons, but much of the interior was still a mystery to him, so even he wasn't sure what they would find.

The talking lasted for most of the day, at which both Kenji and the Third were left tired and weary. The Suna council on the other hand looked to be filled with vigor as they discussed plan after plan. Hope of saving their village had filled their spirits with new found energy.

At a little past midnight, the meeting had ended, and Kenji was free to leave which he did gladly.

The next day the meeting continued in full force, and it was decided that the Kazekage would lead the next expedition, with a squad of elite shinobi. A foolish idea in Kenji's opinion, but it wasn't his business if they wanted to risk the life of their Kage.

"I'm really starting to hate this damn place," Kenji said as he laid on his hotel bed.

'You think you have it bad, try it with a thick fur coat and see how it feels,' Akame told him from her spot under the bed trying to escape the desert heat.

"It does seem that this place is out to get you doesn't it," the Third injected, "First those Needle Teeth, then the swarm of scorpions, and now this tomb."

"If I had known that it would be this troublesome, I would have run away the second we finished signing the contract."

"Well hindsight is 20/20."

 **(Desert)**

Kenji grumbled as he followed the exploration team. As he expected, the Suna council had chosen now of all times to bring up the clause in their newly formed contract, that said the CBA would offer aid in case of a nationwide emergency concerning chakra beasts.

With the emergence of the ruin, many of the chakra beasts in the area had drifted around it, which officially classified as a national disaster. They got him on a technicality, so he joined the expedition.

There was nothing he could do about that, but that didn't mean he would leave empty handed. After a fierce debate a new deal was struck. It was decided that 25% of the treasure found on this trip was going to the Leaf with another 5% going to Kenji himself for acting as their chakra beast expert.

This exploration team consisted of a total of 9 shinobi including Rasa and Kenji. Kenji was allowed to take two Leaf shinobi as his guards, he ended up choosing Anko and his shadow clone disguised as Master Shu. While he was tempted to pick the Third, even he knew that it would be a bad decision to bring the leader of your village to a potentially death trap.

Rasa had chosen 5 of his village's top trackers and trap experts to come along. They all looked like veteran soldiers that had fought many death and life battles. Compared to them, Kenji and his team were rather lacking.

He was armed with his newest equipment on top of Drago, causing the temperamental velociraptor to grumble about being used as a pack mule. Akame had retreated into his shadow and had refusing to leave ever since. Beside him was his clone that sported his usual umbrella sword and bow. Anko was on his other side, wearing her new alchemist robe in place of her heavy trench coat, though that did very little as she was still sweating bullets in the desert heat. Two children, an exhibitionist, an overgrown lizard and a rabbit were the make up of the Leaf team.

"It's so hot~" complained Anko as she opened her robe letting all see that she was only wearing a chainmesh underneath. Looking at the young boy she asked, "Why aren't you sweating like the rest of us?"

Indeed, Kenji was perfectly fine with the heat despite having multiple layers of clothes himself. "Oh, that. Don't worry about it."

Truth was that he had invented a new pill that helped regulate internal heat to a comfortable temperature no matter what the weather was outside. Unfortunately, he had only made a very limited supply and he wasn't in the mood to share.

"If you're that hot, you can hold onto my staff if you want?" he said as he took the ice artifact that was giving a cold air.

"…Was that supposed to be an innuendo? Did you finally hit puberty!? Ack!"

Anko rubbed her head after being hit with the staff, feeling a layer of frost forming on top of her hair.

Kenji didn't say anything as he picked up the pace leaving her behind.

"Hehe, you deserve that," the clone said with a fox like grin as he looked toward the snake mistress using his bamboo umbrella to shield him from the sun.

 **(Scene change)**

"Well?" Rasa asked his scout.

The man wearing a turban shook his head as he cancelled the sand eye jutsu, "Nothing sir. It's a complete ghost town."

"How, is it possible that these creatures can just disappear without a trace? It doesn't make sense," the leader of the Sand village muttered to himself.

Kenji also thought it was weird. He was expecting the ancient city to be overrun with chakra beasts, but they had yet to even spot one.

"No choice, we'll have to proceed forward."

At that command the recon team disappeared in a swirl of dust before appearing at the entrance of the ruined city.

Two large stone pillars thirty feet in height stood partially intact, acting as a gate.

"Wait a moment," Kenji said as he inspected the pillars.

Dusting some of the sand off he saw that there were hieroglyphs carved all around it. Tracing some of the symbols he had to smile at Kaguya's creativity as well as attention to detail.

"I don't suppose any of you are well versed in Sand Script?" Kenji asked without looking back.

There was a shaking of heads before Rasa walked to the pillar, "What have you found."

"You'll have to excuse me if my translation isn't exactly the best, I was only able to memorize the basics, but this appears to be a warning of some sort."

The red-head was starting to regret not brushing up on the ancient languages, "What exactly does it say?"

"Let's see- hmm, 'something something dying sunset- something guardian- false speaker- something something painful death- and key barer' I guess we need to find a key or something."

"Any idea what this key looks like?"

Kenji pointed to a picture of what looked like two bird headed people holding what looked like a cube.

"It might be in the city; we'll have to search for it."

Kenji gave a deadpan expression behind his bandages but decided to play along.

As one, they entered the city, an ominous wind was felt by everyone.

They split into groups of three and each chose a section of the city to search.

Kenji was paired up with two Sand Shinobi and his chakra beasts, they would meet back before sundown.

Entering one of the abandoned houses Kenji was looking for anything that looked out of place. Once again, he praised Kaguya for her attention to detail, as he noticed everything looked very authentic from the rotten wood down to the worn-down walls.

After finding nothing he went to the next house.

This time however, he did find something as he bent down.

"A bone?"

"Akame," he called out.

Akame jumped out of one of the shadows inside of the house.

Showing her the thin needle-like piece of bone he asked, "What can you tell me about this?"

Giving it a sniff, the small white rabbit gained a thoughtful expression, 'Smells like dirt and death.'

"Can you be more specific?"

'Bone has no smell. Was in contact with something that smells like dirt and death. The entire city does.'

"I see, you can go back?"

She didn't need another excuse as she jumped into another shadow.

"Drago, you're on lookout. Tell me if you notice anything strange. Until then keep hidden?" Kenji told his other companion as he unstrapped his belonging.

A deep rumbling voice echoed in the back of Kenji's mind, ' _ **Aaasss yyouu wwish Maaaster."**_

No sooner had he said that did Drago turn himself invisible before jumping onto a roof to have a better vantage point.

Drago was definitely the most disciplined out of Kenji's chakra beasts. His powers were also top rate, which suited a top predator like him, which was surprising when considering he used to be a gecko not that long ago.

They regrouped just as the last rays of sun were snuffed out. They lit some torches and made a temporary camp.

"Did any of you find the key?" Kenji asked once they were all together.

Rasa reached into his bag and took the key that started everything, "I did."

'Jerk, I knew you had it all along.' "Great, I'm sure that will come in handy later."

Rasa looked as stoic as always as he looked at everyone, "Did anyone else find something?"

They all emptied their bags showing useless junk they thought was curious. Just as they were beginning to lose hope, Anko smiled a shit eating grin as she reached into her bag.

"Read it and weep boys," the snake mistress announced as she showed what she was holding.

It was a scarab beetle made entirely out of gold with a ruby embedded on its back.

"Where did you find this?" one of the sand shinobi asked excitedly, as they all crowded to get a better look.

"Wait, it gets better," she said as she turned her bag upside down letting more golden beetles fall out onto the sand, "Can you believe they were just embedded to a wall inside one of the temples?"

Kenji frowned, something didn't feel right to him, almost as if he was forgetting something.

Rasa noticed the younger boy's expression and was immediately weary. He might not have known the boy all that well, but from what he was able to gather, the boy should be currently jumping for joy considering his greedy nature.

Then it hit him like lightning. Shifting into sage mode, he confirmed his worst fears.

"Everyone! Throw them away!" He warned them as he moved toward Anko and slapped the scarab beetle out of her hand.

They were immediately put on guard except for one that wasn't fast enough.

The beetle stayed stuck to his hand confusing the shinobi, before that turned into horror as the golden beetle began to burrow under the man's skin.

"Arggg!"

The beetle soon began to travel up the man's arm at an alarming rate.

Kenji's clone was the first to react as he took out a kunai and stabbed it into the bulge on the man's skin. Then he sliced the man's skin to dig out the beetle, which even now refused to die.

Everyone backed away as the blood-soaked insect landed on the ground.

"W-what the hell? What the fuck was that?!" a horrified sand kunoichi cursed, not that anyone could blame her.

The others however managed to hold in their shock to stab the surrounding beetles with their kunai.

Picking one of the skewered beetles Kenji visibly frowned, "Flesh burrowing scarab beetles, that's just horrifying. Master Shu, I leave healing him to you."

He received a thumbs up from his clone that was already weaving the hand signs.

Turning to Anko, Kenji began to speak again, "Anko were did you say you found-"

Kenji didn't get to finish that sentence as he took out his ice staff and slammed it on the ground, turning the surround sand into ice. "Shu! Shield!"

His clone stopped healing the injured shinobi long enough to grab his bamboo umbrella and activate its special ability. A transparent blue dome large enough to cover everyone was created in an instant.

Everyone huddled together taking out their respective weapons.

"What do you sense Yamamoto?" Rasa asked scanning the area, golden sand swirling around him.

"…we're surrounded."

"How bad is it?"

The surround sand began to shake uncontrollably as dozens, then hundreds, and finally thousands of those golden beetles found their way to the surface.

"…Pretty bad."

One of the panicking shinobi was looking around franticly, "How did they sneak up on us? We didn't sense anything."

'This is bad,' Kenji thought grimly.

"We need to head towards the pyramid, the stone ground will give us a better position than staying out in the open like this," the Kazekage suggested as the number of beetles had yet to stop growing.

"I'll drop the barrier at the count of five so get ready," Master Shu exclaimed as he took hold of the umbrella.

Everyone began to go through different hand seals for their respective jutsu.

"5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Now!"

The transparent barrier disappeared.

The beetles took to the sky as they unfurled their wings forming a mass of golden bodies.

They all launched their attacks together. Anko launched a small volley of fire balls that momentarily scattered them before reforming again. The others used wind blades and gusts of air to push them back. Rasa summoned a miniature tornado around them to protect everyone. A sea of golden talismans exploded out of Kenji's sleeves before flying in all directions forming lasers that twisted and curved in the air, hitting multiple beetles at the same time.

Hundreds of beetles fell out of the air dead, yet things didn't look better.

Using Rasa's wind barrier, they ran to the pyramid in the distance.

They needed to use the rooftops as the entire ground had turned into a sea of gold.

Just as it looked like they would all make it, one of the sand ninjas slipped off the roof plunging to the infested ground below, getting consumed by the beetles in seconds.

No one could do anything but move forward even as the horrifying scream trailed behind them.

"Drago!" Kenji called out for his companion, a kick up of dust next to him was the only indication that he was there, "Clear the way for us!"

As soon as the command was given all of the beetles in front of them were destroyed in a flash.

Drago second ability was instant acceleration. He could go from 0 to 240 mph instantly, turn corners on a dime, and stop instantly. He was almost as fast most Jonin using the body flicker technique.

They were able to make it in a few seconds thanks to him.

Kenji threw out warding talisman as they entered the entrance to the pyramid, an invisible barrier springing behind them. The beetles who couldn't see it were turned to ashes as soon as they came in contact with it.

They all gave a sigh of relief once they saw they weren't being followed.

It was a good thing that the entire area was considered scared land, otherwise those warding talismans wouldn't have worked.

"Well at least now we know where all of the chakra beasts disappeared to," Master Shu said jokingly as he dusted himself off, "You could almost say they were, gone by dinner time. Eh?"

The sand shinobi were still reeling in from having lost one of their own to pay him much attention.

"Sheesh, what a tough crowd," his clone said as it joined them.

After a moment of silence for the fallen shinobi Rasa spoke again, "We need to keep going."

Everyone was still shaken up but pulled themselves together. They still had a mission to complete.

They walked further in, cautious of anymore dangers, until they reached the center of the chamber, torches on the wall lighting up all around them causing them to huddle together with their backs to each other.

Now that they could see more clearly, they noticed that the entire room was filled with wall paintings and hieroglyphs from top to bottom. They also saw that they had come from the only entrance, meaning that it was a dead-end.

"Yamamoto, think you can translate?"

"Again, my translation is mediocre at best, but I suppose there's no harm in trying."

Everyone took this chance to rest, occasionally watching as Kenji would run around the room tracing over certain pictures.

Kenji on the other hand was busy trying to find another entrance.

He was looking over an ancient looking drawing of an Egyptian queen with a horned hairpiece being fed some sort of fruit by a jackal headed person. Then he moved on to what looked like the same queen standing in front of a large tree. Next it showed the queen holding what looked like a ball sized sun and a crescent moon in her hands.

'Looks like she adapted parts of her myth to fit the theme,' the small boy thought as he looked around the room finding more things that told of her past.

Slowly, he was beginning to piece together the puzzle left for him.

He looked to the center of the room where a large zodiac calendar was etched into the ground.

Entering sage mode, he could see additional symbols placed around the room, meant only for his eyes.

"The faithful dog shows the path to the moon. The jackal holds the key."

Looking at the calendar he saw that the dog symbol was facing the entrance not the moon. In fact, the only moon in the entire room was the one in the painting.

"Wait a minute," Kenji said out loud as he inspected the picture again. He touched the fruit in the picture and pushed, a clicking sound greeted his ears before the sound of stone grinding against stone rang through the chamber.

The calendar sprouted stone pillars all around the edge.

He recognized the mechanize immediately as he was the one to design it in the first place.

"What's happening?" Anko asked confused at the rumbling.

Grabbing one of the pillars, Kenji explained, "I figured out the puzzle. We have to make the dog on the calendar face the moon on the painting."

Taking his word, everyone grabbed a pillar and began to push clockwise, the large stone tablet slowly turning until they managed to get the dog to face the moon.

Once they did, another click was heard as it rumbled before turning into a spiraling stairway going down.

"I'll be damned," Anko whistling in surprise, "So who's going first."

Immediately they all looked to each other.

 **(Time skip)**

After a quick game rock-paper-scissors, a sand shinobi was given point as everyone trailed behind them carrying a torch from the above chamber.

"Hold on, stop here," the shinobi said as they took out a kunai and sliced a wire trap, causing darts to shoot out of the wall only inches away from where they would have been.

The entire place was boobytrapped from false steps to pressure sensitive walls and other manner of nasty surprises.

Ten minutes after descending they were finally able to reach the bottom which led to a much larger open chamber.

Two sphinx statues stood on the opposite side of the room guarding the only pathway.

"I'm sensing life from those two statues," Kenji alerted the others.

They all nodded, showing that they had heard him as they got into formation.

Once they had all entered the room the pathway behind them disappeared, "Well no choice but forward?"

They didn't make it two steps before the stone statues exploded showing the chakra beasts hidden inside.

" **Ye who enter take heed~"**

" **For a sharp mind is what you will need~"**

" **Richs and glory await those who pass our test~"**

" **Decide, if you succeed or fail like the rest~"**

" **I am Truth"**

" **-and I am Lie."**

" **Together we shall decided!"**

The sphinxs looked exactly as how Kenji imagined them looking like with lion lower bodies and the upper bodies of human females.

This was his first time meeting intelligent chakra beasts

Anko leaned over and whispered to the smaller boy, "Kenji? Now might be a good time to spread some of that chakra beast wisdom around?"

"…I'm thinking."

The two lion/human hybrid continued their little act as they jumped down from their pedestal.

The sphinx on the right who introduced itself as truth spoke, again.

" _ **Answer correctly and you may pass~"**_

" _ **I am-"**_

"Attack them while they're distracted," Kenji suddenly said as he took out a dragon talisman and shot out a large fireball at the duo.

The other shinobi followed his lead as they began to launch their weapons and justus at the pair from a distance.

The sphinx roared in anger even with most of the attacks slidding off their pelt like water on a duck back.

They lunged at the shinobi, crossing the room in a single leap.

Kenji and the others scattered.

Rasa was already spreading his gold dust around the room, a thin tendril wrapping around the feline's paw before slamming it against the wall. The other's launched vacuum blades at it, aiming at its vulnerable points like its eyes or the inside of its mouth.

Master Shu faced the other sphinx, his umbrella blade being the only weapon strong enough to slash the beast's thick skin. Anko tried to wrap her snakes around it but they were destroyed as soon as they were in its range.

"Make sure not to get bitten!" Kenji said as he noticed the snakes that the sphinx had bitten turn into sand.

 **(Scene change)**

It was past 2 in the morning, as a squad of Root shinobi stalked the premises of the shop, Moon Artifacts.

They had been assigned a mission of upmost importance, where failure was not an option.

They were to infiltrate the shop and investigate what secrets it held while Yamamoto was out of the village.

Danzo had already acquired a minor supply of chakra artifacts, either through coercing their previous owners to readily hand them over or taking them by force. Yet despite this, he knew that what he held was only the leftover scraps and that the truly powerful artifacts where kept inside the building safely hidden away from all.

It had taken him weeks of planning to orchestrate a situation where Kenji Yamamoto would be forced to leave the village for some time, making the shop vulnerable for infiltration. He had lost a number of operatives in an effort to lead chakra beasts into highly populated towns, just so that the Sand would ask the Leaf for help, but he considered it a small price to pay.

The group of four Root members were some of the best in the entire organization, each specialized in infiltration missions. They had studied every square inch of the barrier for days, looking for possible weak points they could use.

One of the shinobi took out a brush and chose a section of the wall where he began to draw a seal. Once he was done, he signaled everyone to get ready as he activated the seal. A crack appeared in the air above the wall, as if someone had shattered a mirror.

The seal wouldn't hold long however, 7 minutes at maximum.

They all jumped through the rift in the barrier, landing on the wall safely.

Giving each other cautious looks, one of the members summoned a clone and made it jump down into the yard.

As soon as the clone touched the grass it was promptly dispelled.

On closer inspection the squadron saw that the grass where the clone had been was standing rigid looking more like a sea of green senbon needles blades of grass. It stayed like that for a couple more seconds almost as if looking for more intruders before going back to resemble normal grass.

The leader of group gave a series of hand signs, causing everyone to throw kunai connected to long pieces of rope toward the building.

Once everyone had secured their line to the wall, they jumped on their make shift tightrope with unnatural grace.

They steady made their way across the courtyard undetected, however a nearby splash made them all stop mid-track.

Looking to the side, they saw something glittering in the pond. A quick glance was all needed to see that it was only a giant koi fish with glittering rainbow scales. They paid it no mind, and continued forward, unaware that it had disappeared the second it was no longer being watched.

It wasn't until they were two thirds of the way that they noticed movement up ahead.

Four small marshmallow beings emerged from a secret compartment built into the second story floor.

However, the most concerning part were the daggers each carried in their stubby hands.

One of the intruders summed up their collective thought in one simple word, "Oh."

The shikigami cut the ropes suspending the Root shinobi off the ground as one.

With barely any time to react, they were able to unsheathe their tantos and stab them on the ground below, to act as a foothold, preventing them from being impaled by the needle grass.

Unfortunately for them, it wasn't the time to relax yet as the trees around them shook with activity. Giant hornet nest shook loose, falling momentarily, before flying in the air to surround them.

"Mission had become compromised. Fall back," the leader said as he took out an explosive tag strapped to a kunai.

He didn't get a chance to throw it however as the nests gave off a mechanical click. They then began to spin around momentarily before suddenly sending a barrage of senbon needles in all directions.

The root members tried their best to block the hundreds of needles with their kunai, but many still made it past their guard. The upgraded armor that Danzo had prepared for them did its intended job of protecting them, proving once more how powerful chakra artifacts could be.

It was too bad for them, as they should have been paying more attention to the ground rather than the air, as root like vines emerged from the grass, coiling themselves around their tantos before wrapping around their ankles.

In the next second, vines shot out from underneath one of the unsuspecting Root operatives. The poor man didn't even get a chance to warn the others as he was wrapped in a vine cocoon. His muffled screams didn't last long as the vines grew 6-inch thorns impaling him from every direction, before dragging him of his foothold and into the ground below.

Another Root shinobi took notice of his comrade's disappearance, but that moment cost him, as one of the senbon was able to enter an opening in his armor. He said nothing as he pulled out the needle and saw that it was covered in strange purple substance. The next second, he felt his vision cloud as his body began to grow heavy. The last thing he saw was some type of insect monster fly straight at his face before feeling weightless.

Seeing another of their comrades be taken out, this time by what looked like a giant butterfly, the two remaining Root ninjas decided to throw caution to the wind. The mission had turned into a failure the moment they were caught, the most they could do now was escape so that they could inform Danzo of everything they had learned for future reference.

Throwing explosive kunai at the nests, they were able to take out 11 of the 24.

They slashed at the roots holding them in place and jumped on the grass, refusing to utter a single sound even as the sole of their feet were impaled by the grass.

Channeling chakra to their legs, they managed to leap onto the stone pathway, placing them near the koi pond.

This however was unwise on their part as a moment later, a tendril of water pierced the nearest shinobi before dragging them into the pond. The water churned for a second before turning red and going still.

The last of the shinobi used the body flicker technique to move toward the opening in the barrier, but despite going at near untraceable speeds, something crashed into him from the side sending him skidding across the yard and into one of the walls.

The bones on his left side were completely shattered from the attack, the only reason why he had survived at all was due to the armor that was now barely intact.

From the darkness came out a red and gold beast, its emerald eyes looking at the wounded man with barely controlled hunger. It opened its mouth to speak, a feminine voice came out as it stalked forward, "Leaving so soon?"

"Me and my siblings were just getting hungry, so you can imagine our surprise when four tasty morsels decided to just wander into our home," Lin-Lin said with sadistic glee as she was joined by the rest of Kenji's chakra beast. Stumpy the rhinoceros beetle with the tree growing on its horn emerged from the ground. Dewdrop the giant colorful butterfly flapped its wings, trailing just a step behind Lin-Lin. Finally, Silvy the rainbow-colored koi fish flew out of the pond in a sphere made out entirely out of water to join the rest of her family.

"We normally don't like uninvited guest, but for you I'll make an exception," the large guardian lion said all the while licking her lips, "It's been some time since we've been able to enjoy the taste of humans after all."

The eyes of the gathered chakra beast were giving off a sinister glow in the moonlight. The entire fight, if you call it that, had only lasted 4 minutes in total.

 **(Scene change)**

With a final crushing motion from his hand, Rasa was able to make the golden dust inside of the Sphinx crush her organs from the inside.

The large chakra beast gave one final whimper before it fell, its eyes, ears, nose and mouth all leaking blood with gold mixed in.

" _Pant. Pant_. Dear Kami, I thought that was never going to end," the tired Kazekage muttered as he glanced around the room that looked like thousands of explosive tags had gone off all at once, icicles hanging off the ceiling.

A few feet away, laid a pile of sand that used to be one of his best men, until the beast had bitten him.

The other sphinx was just about finished as well as the fat boy managed to cut off its head some time ago, yet the beast proved resilient as it continued to attack for several seconds before finally collapsing.

"Haa haa haa, w-well that was easy," Kenji said offhandedly as he slid down an ice coated wall, "Wonder what's in store for us next."

* * *

 **A/N: It great to be back.**

 **Hope this makes up for it, I know some of you have been wanting to know what Danzo has been doing all this time.**

 **I also decided to mention Kenji's chakra beasts for those of you who forgot about them. Again, they are chakra beasts no matter how much Kenji trains them, and it is in their nature to consume large sources of chakra, mainly shinobi though. Also, if it wasn't clear already, the koi fish is a water bender.**

 **Originally, I was going to make the chapter longer, but decided to shorten it so that I wouldn't overwhelm you with too much information after such a long break. I know that's happened to me and I'm always left scratching my head.**

 **As for the needle grass, well I remember seeing a movie a few years back, I think the name is Aeon Flex or something, and I always thought that was the dopest shit ever. The scarab beetles are also from the Mummy, if you didn't get that.**

 **Well until next time.**


	26. The Purple Mountain

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references mentioned in this fanfic.**

 **A/N: I'll answer some question that you guys had.**

 **First, some asked why Kenji attacked them. He can sense emotions remember, so he knew that they were lying when they said they would let them leave.**

 **Second, why don't they just use clones? The answer is because clones are to fragile for something as dangerous as scouting a tomb probably infested with chakra beasts that can hide from detection. Even an earth clone that has the most defense power can be killed if taken by surprise by a horde of those beetles.**

 **Third, this goes to coldblue2015. The final bosses will be a mummy, but also a chakra beast. The sand will also grow stronger. And the Inuyasha swords will be a thing, but not until later when Kenji's blacksmithing skills have improved.**

 **Fmwaver, thanks for the congratulations. I also can't believe it's also been a year.**

 **No on to the story.**

* * *

 **Chapter 26**

Kenji brought up the upgraded meat cleaver and chopped a section of the sphinx's body.

Everyone around him except for Rasa was currently using this time to catch up on some much-needed sleep. Drago and Akame sleeping only a few feet away. Everyone had a been up for more than 24 hours straight and while they could go on for more, it was better to rest while they could.

Next to him was a booklet that he was using to document all his findings from the autopsy, which he would later file into the CBA's database. The wall torches acting as the only light source as all of their electrical equipment like their flashlights had mysteriously stopped working.

Taking a carving knife, he unhinged the jaw and extracted the two poison glands on the roof of its mouth. This poison was the cause of their deadly bite, capable of turning living flesh into sand. He made sure to be extra careful when he put it away for later research.

Hearing fiddling behind him, Kenji didn't have to turn to see Rasa staring at the puzzle box again. He had a melancholy air around him that made the small boy wonder if he was clinically depressed.

"The sphinxes were lying you know," Kenji admitted out loud.

Rasa didn't say anything but did put away the cube showing that he was listening.

"They had no intention of letting us leave," he went on not stopping in his dismantling.

"…I figured as much."

"I should warn you that things are probably going to get harder from here," Kenji told him, using a tool to scoop out the eyeballs from the two corpses.

"How certain are you?"

"It's more of a gut feeling."

No more words were said as they descended into silence.

As the night dragged on, Rasa would occasionally glance at the small boy and watch him work, his hands moving with a sense of grace as they took apart the large beasts bit by bit.

Kenji Yamamoto, a name that was quickly garnering attention throughout the continent. He had first heard of him from his spies in the Leaf. A report had come in one day that told of a boy who had quickly garnered the attention of the Land of Fire's Daimyo and set a curious shop. At the time, he had dismissed the rumors surrounding the mysterious boy thinking of them as simple gossip told by civilians, many of which contradicted each other. However the more time he spent observing him and his fat friend, the more questions he got.

Where did he come from?

How had he remained hidden until now?

Why was such a small child put in charge of such an important organization as the CBA?

These were only a few of the questions he had.

That wasn't to say he wasn't getting a better picture as time went on. The dangerous beasts he kept as simple pets made it obvious to all that he was far from normal. His equipment was also far from ordinary. Reports from his spies had been pouring in about how the Leaf was now capable of crafting weapons equal to those of the seven swordsmen.

It irked on his pride that the Leaf was quickly regaining its past strength while the Sand was declining.

He took out the key again, his last hope to restore his village.

 **(Scene change)**

"Oh, this is sooo good," Anko exclaimed through a mouthful of fried rice as she practically inhaled the food on her plate. Likewise, pig noises were made by the rest of the squad as they dug into their meal. The only ones that still had any trace of manners was Rasa, who eat with a stoic face.

Kenji scooped up another spoonful of rice and refilled the plate of a sand kunoichi, "Well eat up, were going to need our strength."

Normally the greedy merchant boy wasn't one to share, but drastic times called for drastic measures.

While his cooking ability was only above average, he had decided to cook their meal using only upgraded ingredients in order to give everyone a boost. As such, the simple meal of fried rice, dumplings, and stir-fried vegetables was heavenly compared to the ration bars they were expecting to eat.

 **Fried Rice**

 **Quality: Low Human**

 **\+ Delicious rice that temporarily boost chakra recovery.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: N/A**

 **Meat Dumplings**

 **Quality: Low Human**

 **\+ Dumpling made out of beef and vegetables that temporarily improves an individual's durability and strength.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: N/A**

 **Stir-Fried Vegetables**

 **Quality: Low Human**

 **\+ A dish comprised of only the vegetables, gives a temporary boost to stamina and poison resistance.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: N/A**

Once they were all finished filling their stomachs, they began to look over their equipment. Kenji took out a chest filled with transparent tennis-sized orbs. His main priority at the moment was escaping the tomb, so he might as well take things seriously. He picked out two and handed them to Anko and his clone while also getting one for himself.

"Here."

 **Slime Body Suit +10**

 **Quality: Low Human**

 **Defense: 40**

 **+640**

 **\+ Reduce physical damage by 25%**

 **10+: Boosts movement speed by 10%**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 200**

Holding the gelatinous ball Anko asked, "What is it?"

"It's a new prototype armor I've been working on."

Master Shu held it up to the torch light and asked, "How does it work?"

"Feed it chakra and then smear it against the area you want to protect," Kenji told them before demonstrated it and coating his clothes in the goo.

Originally, he had been trying to make a gloss to keep his weapons from rusting, but as luck would have it he had stumbled onto this discover in the process.

Anko took off her alchemist robe causing everyone to momentarily pause in their activity.

"Ah… Anko that's not necessary," Kenji started.

The snake mistress stood there with only her mesh shirt on, completely unashamed to be surrounded by other people, one of which was a Kage from another village. "Why? Wouldn't it be better to coat our skin with it?"

The small merchant boy tried to find flaw in her logic but couldn't, "…I suppose?"

"See, then there's no problem," she said with a smirk as she reached for her skirt.

"Okay! That's enough of that!" Master Shu interjected as he slammed his hands on the ground and made an earth wall to act as a screen.

Once both had finished coating themselves with the slime armor the small blacksmith went on, "Now, just let it dry for a couple seconds and it should be ready."

The rest of the team had already finished checking their tools and where just waiting on the other side of the chamber to see what would happen.

"Okay, I think it's dry enough," the purple haired kunoichi said walking from behind the wall, thankfully clothed this time, "So what exactly does this do?"

Kenji walked around both her and his clone jotting down notes in a book, "It's and epidermal body armor, strong enough to ignore most physical attacks under a certain threshold. It can also block 25% percent of all physical damage and boost bodily functions by a total of 10%."

"Wow, that's not bad," Anko announced as she pinched the skin of her arm and found that it didn't hurt.

The sand shinobi however were glancing at their Kage with worried looks. To them, this was just further proof that the Leaf was growing stronger.

Using medical ninjutsu, Kenji ran his hand over Anko's body, "Unfortunately, it's still a prototype. It has a life expectancy of 4 hours before it starts breaking down. I also wouldn't expose it to fire as extreme heat sources can destabilize the molecular bonds in the suit causing it to break down faster."

"Aw man, there's always a catch. So, when do you plan on selling these?"

Kenji gave a shark tooth grin filled with greed, "Once I work out all the kinks in the suit, I'll begin production and start marketing it to those rich nobles from the Fire Capital. I think 20,000,000 ryo for impenetrable skin is fair enough, wouldn't you say?"

The team of shinobi who were secretly listening in all choked on their spit at the amount.

Even Anko was momentarily stunned as she looked at him with wide eyes then adopted a flirtatious grin, "Wow, Boss, you suddenly look really handsome. You know once, you hit puberty I wouldn't mind showing you a couple of things," she said slightly pulling apart the opening of her robe.

Master Shu, who had remained silent until now, took his umbrella and slammed it down on her head with enough force to cause the ground under her to crack, "Begone foul beast."

Anko dropped her act and rubbed her head with a confused expression, "Ow, I guess? That surprisingly didn't hurt?"

"Alright enough, I think it's time we continued our exploration, wouldn't you agree Kazekage?" Kenji said turning to look at the stoic man.

Rasa nodded as he stepped forward, "Yes, it's time to move on."

They all placed their supplies in sealing scrolls, or in storage rings in the case of the Leaf shinobi and walked to the only exit in the room.

The hallway was pitch black filled with all manner of deadly traps as one would expect. After several minutes of walking they finally saw light coming from the exit. There was only one problem.

"Wait a second, weren't we just here," one of the sand shinobi asked.

Indeed, they were back in the sphinx room.

"How is that possible? We went in a straight line and there weren't any other exits," a kunoichi asked.

"Genjutsu perhaps?" Master Shu asked stroking the fake beard he had reapplied during their walk.

"No, we would have sensed it," Rasa said with a scowl.

"Let's test something then, why doesn't half the group stay here, while the other goes back the way we came," Kenji suggested.

While Kenji and his team were left in the room, the others walked back, but not before tying one end of a long rope to the room.

It didn't take long for them to return this time coming back from the same way they went holding the other end of the rope.

"So, what happened?" Master Shu asked.

"I not sure," Rasa said with a confused face, "I didn't sense anything strange this time either?"

"Umm? Sir? Something strange is happening," the shinobi holding the end of the rope said as he tugged on the line causing the part still tied to the room to straighten.

"What the-"

Kenji having enough of this clear violation of the laws of physics went into sage mode to get a better understanding.

Immediately he found the answer.

They were trapped in a pocket dimension without an exit. It had boundary but any chance to escape its area would just have you walk back the way you came. However, Kenji knew that Kaguya wouldn't have made this room if there wasn't an exit, it was just a matter of finding it.

He scanned the room for anything out of place but even with Sage mode he didn't find anything.

Everyone else was looking at the rope trick asking questions, but as he looked at them he finally took notice of the pedestal that the sphinx had used as a perch. 'It can't be that easy, can it?'

Without any word of warning Kenji pushed against one of the stone pedestals and sure enough it began to move, showing a hidden room underneath.

Rasa who had been paying attention to Kenji's actions stepped forward to peer down the dark hole. He retrieved a flare from his pack and lit it before dropping it down the pit.

"Oh my," Master Shu said with a shocked look on his face.

The room was fairly small in size, but it was filled to the brim with golden treasure.

"We're rich!" Anko exclaimed as she turned to her alchemy master, "Eh Boss?"

"…"

"Boss?"

"…"

"Boss!" she shook him when he didn't respond.

"I think he stopped breathing," Rasa ever the helpful one told her before looking at his sealing scroll, "I think we're going to need more scrolls."

 **(Purple Mountain)**

"Urgg!"

A grimy hand appeared over the edge of a cliff side before it was joined by another one, then a familiar mop of red hair.

With effort Aiko managed to pull herself completely over the edge. She laid down on the ground for several seconds letting the soreness in her muscles fade slightly before standing back up again to tug on the vine rope attached to her waist.

The red head planted her feet firmly on the ground and began to haul up her package.

Soon the head of a panda appeared over the edge, "Dear Kami, did you get heavier on the way up?"

Po-chin gave a lazy yawn as he took a bite from a bamboo shoot.

Once he was finally up, Aiko fell flat on her back completely exhausted.

It had been weeks since she had arrived in this valley, and in that time she had faced horrors that she never thought were possible.

In hindsight she realized that she should have probably investigated the land before jumping head first. If she did, then she would have found out that the Purple Mountains Province was one of the most chakra beast infested places in the entire Land of Fire, ranking just behind the Forest of Death.

The only reason why she had been able to survive this long was because she had Po-chin at her side. Together the two would hunt the weakest animals in the area, which were still many times stronger than normal, and hide from the more dangerous predators. Even the mysterious white rabbits that would appear from time to time would occasionally help by pointing them in the direction of edible fruits and nuts. What little food they managed to scrounge up was always shared between them.

Despite all of their hardships, the two managed to grow stronger. Their physical abilities had reached academy student level despite Aiko's farm girl past and Po-chin's general laziness. They still couldn't use chakra, but they were able to jump many times their normal height and even lift things several times their own weight.

What little free time she had in the day was spent cultivating and training in her martial arts.

However she had recently noticed that she was stuck in a bottleneck, where she could no longer cultivate any further. From the novels she had read, this could only mean that she was close to a breakthrough. The rabbit messengers had then shortly left her a message telling her to reach the top of the mountain.

Since then she had been trying her best to climb the mountain. There were many paths to reaching the top, but each one was filled with peril. To the north was a gang of man-eating white yetis, to the south was a steep vertical mountain side, to the east was a dense jungle terrain filled with carnivorous plants, and final to the west was a vicious old goat that liked butting people off the mountain.

During her stay she had also learned that she wasn't the only one that had been trying to reach the top, as others had also felt the pull. Some of these people had also turned out to be cultivators, the name they had jokingly begun to call themselves after the mystical hero portrayed in the popular novels currently gaining popularity across the elemental nations.

So far no one had managed to reach the top, but that didn't stop her from trying.

After finally gathering her strength she was able to stand up and look around.

The scene in front of them looked like it had been taken straight out of one of her novels with how unearthly breathtaking it was. Strangely colored fruit trees covered the area with rabbits roaming the area everywhere they looked. A small crystal-clear pond was on one side with different types of fish. The most shocking things however was the stone temple erected at the center that was as large as a palace.

"What the?" the small red head said in awe as they walked toward the large building.

When they reached the large gate blocking the entrance, they noticed a plaque on the side.

'Ye who walk the path of the immortals enter and be judged.'

Aino looked at Po-chin who looked just as confused as her.

She leaned on the gate only to fall right through it as if it was made out of smoke, landing right on her face.

Looking down she saw another plaque on the ground.

'Cultivator, you have been judged. Welcome disciple of the Red Moon Sect.'

 **(Ruins)**

"-Discount your mother! I don't care even if you are the Shinigami!" Kenji shouted all of a sudden as he sat up.

He looked around wildly only to see that he was back in the sphinx room.

Anko who was at his side raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"…nothing," he carefully dodged the question then noticed something strange, "Why does the inside of my mouth taste sweet?"

Anko was about to answer before Shu pushed her aside and helped his 'friend' to his feet, "CPR, don't think about it buddy."

"Fine. What about the gold?" the blindfolded merchant asked.

Instead of answering Shu just pointed to the side of the room where the sand shinobi were stacking everything, Akame and Drago acting as guards.

Kenji lost his breath again but thankfully didn't faint this time as he made his way to the pile and grabbed a handful of golden coins, letting them fall between his fingers.

"I'm rich," Kenji muttered.

Shu gave his creator a side hug, "We're rich."

"Yes, _we_ are," Anko said trying to be included. She received a deadpan look from Shu.

Rasa walked to the trio with a small smile shockingly enough, "Yes, unfortunately the sealing scrolls we brought don't have enough room for everything.

Kenji could guess why. Sealing scroll's fatal flaw were their weight capacity. The heavier the object you wanted to seal away was, the more room on the scroll you needed, which was why smaller scrolls could only about 500 pounds of material. If you wanted to seal something bigger like a cart or a large amount of water then you would need larger scrolls, kind of like the one Naruto or Ten-Ten would carry.

His space rings however didn't have that weakness, it just needed to fit inside of the required dimension.

Kenji retrieved one such ring from his sleeve and flicked it at Rasa, "I'll loan it to you until we get back to the village."

The Kazekage obviously knew what it was since he seen them use it plenty of times already. He gave a small nod of gratitude as he began to place things inside of the ring's inventory.

In a matter of minutes everything had been successfully taken.

Moving the other stone pedestal revealed a hidden passageway.

The passage was extremely narrow forcing everyone to crawl on all four with Drago having to hide in Akame's shadow world. The trip was made even more uncomfortable when they had to carry makeshift torches in one hand to light the way.

After several minutes of crawling they reached a fork in the path.

The shinobi at the front summoned two shadow clone and made it scout ahead of them.

For several minutes everything was quite until they returned.

The shinobi relayed the information he had received from his clones, "The right leads to what a larger throne-like room. The left path leads to a dead end, but I detected an air current, meaning that it must be close to the outside."

Kenji who was stuck in the middle of the line voiced his opinion first, "I say we go left. This was supposed to be a simple expedition mission and we already achieved our objective."

"I agre-" the Kazekage began before a gust of wind blew through the passageway threatening to blow out their torches.

"Well that wasn't ominous at all," Shu spoke sarcastically.

Rasa on the other hand was rooted to his spot.

Kenji who felt the torrent of emotions from the man asked, "Are you okay Kazekage?"

"Yes…" the man answered in his usual stoic voice even as he felt a crushing weight on his heart. For just the briefest of seconds he could have sworn that he heard the voice of his long-deceased wife.

A shiver ran up Kenji's spine as his gut told him that he wasn't going to like what would happen next.

"…We'll split up, Team 1 will find the exit while Team 2 explores the throne room," Rasa said finally.

"Right, I don't want to be t _hat_ guy, but some has to say it. Kazekage no offense, but that sounds like a horrible idea!" Kenji exclaimed, "I've read and written enough horror stories to know this is can only end in one way. At this point of the story the exploration team usually gets killed in a graphic and horrific way."

"I for one vote for not dying today," Shu said.

"I second that," Anko joined in.

"You are free to head back to the village if you wish," Rasa offered.

"Oh well when you put it that way," Kenji said in a cheerful tone, "I'll just be taking that ring back then. We don't want it getting left behind in case you die a gruesome and painful death now would we?"

If Rasa could see Kenji he would have given him one of his most deadpan stares, but seeing as he couldn't he tapped on the shinobi in front of him and gave him the ring, "Take the ring and the Leaf team back to the village. This is your top priority, understand?"

The nameless man took the ring with outmost seriousness, "It shall be done, Kazekage."

Team 1 consisted of the Sand shinobi, Kenji, Anko, and Shu in that order. Team 2 was made up of Rasa and three other shinobi.

 **(Team 1)**

As Kenji followed the Sand shinobi, he started to think about everything that had happened so far, and couldn't help but think that everything had been going too smoothly. Sure there was the matter with the beetles and the sphinxes but honestly he had been expecting more.

'Something just doesn't add up,' he thought to himself.

*Click*

"What was that?" Kenji said accusingly to the shinobi in-front of him.

"Ughh…"

The sound of gears turning could be heard as dust fell on their heads.

They didn't have to wait long to find out why however as the ceiling started getting lower.

"Oh shit, everyone go back!" the shinobi ordered them as they all started to back-peddled.

"See! I just knew this would happen!" Kenji couldn't help but scream as he scuttled backwards.

"Not the time Boss!"

"You can gloat later!"

*Click* *Click* *Click*

"Oh, what now?" Kenji shouted.

Apparently, Kaguya had a bit of a sadistic side as holes in the walls started to pelt them with darts. Luckily the slime armor was able to protect them, unfortunately the same could not be said for the sand shinobi as he fell down paralyzed by the poison forcing Kenji to drag him by the ankle.

Next, sections on the wall opened up before guillotine blades swung between the cracks threatening to behead them.

As a final measure oil started to seeped through the floor. Kenji eyes widened as he say the still lit torch that the sand shinobi had dropped in in the distance.

"Aaaaahhh!"

In such a narrow space it was almost impossible to maneuver themselves properly, even more so with the slippery oil but they still managed to reach the other end, the only problem was…

"Guys! The entrance is missing!" Shu shouted in panic feeling the sturdiness of a stone bricks where the exit should have been.

"Then bust through it! We know it's there!" Anko yelled.

*Click*

Looking down at his hand Kenji gave a humorless chuckle, "Alright, that was my ba-aaaahhhhh…"

Team 1 screamed as they fell down the bottomless pit that opened up beneath them.

 **(Team 2)**

After getting out of the narrow passageway Rasa and his team emerge into a large Egyptian style room.

"There's no dust," Rasa spoke with a frown as he took out a kunai.

Immediately they were put on guard.

Indeed, unlike the rest of the rooms they had been in this place looked as if it had been untouched by time, there were even bowls of fruit placed on table that looked like they had been freshly plucked.

Using his magnetic release he spread his gold dust in every direction to get a better idea of the room.

As they scanned the room, they took notice of just how richly decorated it really was.

Silk tapestries decorated hung from banners on the ceiling. Large 20 ft tall stone guardians with animal heads were placed on each side of the room with bronze weapons in their hands. Expensive looking furniture was placed everywhere made out of white marble or gold. At the far end was an elevated throne wide enough for a normal sized person to lay down.

Suddenly he felt heat coming from his side.

The cubic key clattered on the floor as it burned a hole through his pouch.

Rasa didn't have time to question this however as in the next second it began to levitate in the air before shooting off toward the throne, where a square slot was located.

The key entered and as soon as it did a pulse of blue energy exploded outward, momentarily forcing them to shield their eyes with their arms.

When they looked back at the throne, they were astonished to see a man dressed in white clothes, a head dress reminiscent of a cobra's hood, and different pieces of golden jewelry all over his body. He had a curved sword in one hand and a staff in the other. The most eye-catching thing however was that the man looked to be semi-transparent.

The phantom said nothing as he looked over them as if they were lower than insects and slammed his staff on the ground.

The sound resonated in the room as a miniature sandstorm blew in the air.

The sand then magically transformed to form creatures carried black jackal heads and black human bodies. Each carried two sickles like swords and were dressed similarly to the mystery man.

The apparition slammed his staff twice and the jackal soldiers gave a battle cry before charging at the group of shinobi.

* * *

 **A/N: Dun-dun-duuuu! What will our heroes do know?**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **I brought back Aiko, since she can act as a foil for Kenji's cultivator side. Right now she is in the process of finally condensing her qi like Kenji. Currently she has the same physical abilities that academy students have, which I would guess is still many times that of a normal adult.**

 **Kaguya has also formed a sect! Surprise. Wonder what Kenji will think when he finds out?**

 **The mountain is also protected so only cultivators can reach the top, no shinobi cheating by walking up the side.**

 **Finally, what do you think of the slime suit. It's not the final product, just a prototype. Speaking of which, has anyone ever wondered why high-level equipment for female are always so small. I mean really battle bikinis.**

 **Well I have a working theory. I believe that the clothes are enchanted to take in ambient magical energy and use it to create a skintight forcefield around them. The amount of excess skin they show just helps in absorbing the energy faster so more logically more exposed skin means better defense.**

 **So next time you see scantily female armor, just think, it's probably projecting some type of skin invisible forcefield and it is indeed a practical defense. Your welcome.**

 **Well until next time.**


	27. The Sol Empire

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references mentioned in this fanfic.**

 **A/N: Wow so it's been a while. I'm sure many of you thought I was dead, but no need to mourn my passing as I am still alive.**

 **I want to apologies to everyone for it taking me this long to update but something have been happening in real life that take priority over writing. Nothing too bad just some minor inconveniences that's made me unable to write for a while.**

 **We'll I'm sure you've waited enough, here it is.**

* * *

 **Chapter 27**

Laying face down on the pit of sand, Kenji couldn't help but give an emotionless chuckle at Kaguya's sadistic mind.

Despite it being pitch dark, Kenji had no trouble seeing his surroundings. They appeared to be in some sort of passageway with parallel walls that went on for hundreds of feet.

His clone and Anko had miraculously survived the fall without injury, largely due to the slime suit. The sand shinobi on the other hand, looked to be in a great deal of pain as he lay motionless on the ground, giving off only a few pitiful groans to indicate that he too was alive.

Kenji had to give him credit though, even with chakra reinforcement that fall would have killed most shinobi. The only reason why he was unharmed was because he entered Sage Mode mid-fall granting him superhuman durability.

Dusting himself off, the small boy crouched over to the man and place a hand on his chest. He activated the yang mark on his shoulder and let the healing chakra wash over the man. It only took a moment to full heal him.

It wasn't out of the kindness of his heart that he did it either, but seeing as they were still trapped inside the dungeon he needed as many meat shields as possible.

"Well shit, there goes our only way out," Anko summarized lighting a flare, bathing their surroundings in an angry red hue.

"At least we're still alive," Master Shu offered, as he dusted himself, retrieving his umbrella sword.

Sktskssksk.

"What was that?"

They weren't given even a moments breath as they heard the sound of skittering.

Anko turned around fast and shone the light on one of the stone walls, where the noise was coming from. Looking closely, they saw as the stone chip away as two pincer-like mandibles carved their way outward.

It was a centipede, only it was the size of a human arm. Worse was that hundreds of similar holes began to appear along the entire length of the walls, some the size of grapefruit while others the size of beachballs.

Gulping, Kenji called forth Akame from her hiding place.

Without a moment to lose she 'regurgitated' Draco from her shadow.

Kenji unceremoniously threw the injured Suna shinobi over the velociraptor's back before also jumping on.

"Move!" he shouted just as the walls gave way to a moving sea of black armored insects.

Drago shot off like a bullet, quickly followed by Anko. His clone on the other hand lagged behind, just enough to throw some explosive tags behind them.

The explosion took out hundreds in an instant, but it didn't even seem to make a dent in their numbers.

They managed to distance themselves in the narrow corridor before Kenji felt his instincts flaring up and pulled on Drago's muzzle causing the large reptile to stop suddenly. Anko who couldn't stop as fast was pulled backwards by Kenji's outstretch arm before she could go any further.

She didn't protest however as she quickly found the reason for their sudden stop. A razor thin wire was placed at neck level an inch away, threatening to decapitate her.

Tossing the light, they saw that the entire corridor beyond them was filled with dozens of similar wires.

Hearing the stampede behind them, they didn't waste any time jumping into the web of wires, showing an impressive amount of acrobatics as they avoid touching even a single one.

Now more cautious they exited the trap, and not a moment too soon as the first centipede ran into one of the wires causing a hidden mechanism to activate.

The walls suddenly began to close in on them.

"Well fuck," Anko cursed, as they continued running.

They cleared hundreds of feet in seconds, yet there appeared to be no exit in sight. Worse, the walls were starting to press in on them to the point where their shoulders where touching each wall.

Luckily Kenji managed to spot another of Kaguya's hidden messages. Pressing himself against the wall he pushed a brick causing a hidden lever to appear. He pulled it and a hidden passageway emerge a few feet away.

With a last spurt of speed, they managed to clear the distance just as the two walls slammed together.

The three looked at each other before falling boneless on the ground.

"I hate Suna so much right now," Kenji stated.

"It's just one thing after another," Master Shu agreed with a groan, panting from all the running he had to do.

Anko was also panting but it seemed more to do with the adrenaline running through her body, "Boy, there's never a dull moment huh?"

Sitting up Kenji rummaged into the folds of his sleeves, "Where even are we?" They had taken so many twist and turns, that it wouldn't surprise him if they were back to their original starting point.

Holding a talisman above his head, he activated it, lighting up the entire room.

Kenji felt the air be sucked out of his lungs. Even Anko couldn't hold back a gasp as they stared at mound and mounds of gold treasure.

Gold coins littered the ground like grains of sand, statues dozens of feet high made out of solid gold loomed over them like judgmental gods, trinkets both big and small looked to be made out of only the finest jewels.

Taking out more light talisman, Kenji sent them in every direction to get a better estimate of the size of the room. It did not disappoint as he estimated the entire room to be about as big as a football stadium.

"Gasp!" came an unexpected sound from behind them.

The three turned around with weapons in their hands, only to realize it was just the Sand Shinobi from before, having completely forgotten about him.

"Sigh. Alright, everyone stick together," Kenji ordered taking command of the situation, his mind already working on a way to bring all of this treasure back with him.

They didn't know if there were any more traps but if the last few minutes were anything to go by, it was better to be safe than sorry.

With the four shinobi and the two chakra beasts made their way around the room, making sure not to touch any of the gold mounds.

"Centipedes the size of dogs you say," the Suna shinobi said as Master Shu explained their resent escape. "Wow, what is that?" he said having caught sight of what could only be described as a large golden sarcophagus laying in the middle of the room on top of an elevated alter.

 **(Scene change)**

Rasa cursed himself for getting distracted in mid-combat, receiving a cut on his forearm.

Without a moment's hesitation he cut off his arm at the elbow with a wind jutsu and jumped away.

The arm was mummified in seconds. His eyes momentarily flickered toward the mummified corpse of one of his men that was unlucky enough to be run through by one of the monster's weapons.

With a grunt he used one of the few fire jutsu he knew to cauterize the wound.

The jackal's weapon was giving off a sinister black light, as it bared its fangs at the Kazekage.

For the umpteenth time, Rasa sent a barrage of sand daggers at them but they either dodged or didn't care as they exploded into black sand only to reform seconds later.

They were losing and he only had himself to blame.

A wave of black energy was launched at his legs causing him to jump and land on the ceiling.

The monsters didn't let that stop them however as they too jumped up, using their claws to stick to the stone surface.

Hearing another yell behind him he witnessed as one of his men was bisected at the waist, either too slow or too low on chakra to use the substitute jutsu.

The last of his guards also wasn't fairing much better, barely managing to hold back the attacks. An accidental slip on some sand was all it took for the golden blade to decapitate him.

They surrounded him and just he was sure that it would be the end of him, the ghostly man still sitting on the throne spoke, "Stop. Capture him alive. He will be a worthy sacrifice to our Queen."

The monsters responded by dismissing their weapons into black sand, as they jumped at Rasa like a pack of hungry wolves.

 **(Underground Tomb)**

"Riiight, well we'll just be avoiding that for now," Kenji said as a sea of purification talismans sprang out of his sleeves.

"128 Purification Array," he said the name of his newly developed technique, the paper slips glowing white as they floating around the sarcophagus making a cage.

"We should look for an exit," Shu told the others as Kenji continued to added trap after trap.

The two adults nodded, with Anko biting her thumb and going through a few hand seals trying to summon a snake scout only for nothing to appear. "Well damn, looks like we can't summon."

"Worse," the Sand Shinobi added looking shocked as he held his hands in the ram hand seal, "we can't use any outside jutsu either."

"I can still use my priest techniques though?" Kenji said taking out a jar of purifying salt and making a circle around the coffin, "Aaand that should do it. It's a good thing I stocked up on materials before we left."

Looking around the room the small boy had a frown, actually worried for once, 'Just how am I supposed to take all of this gold back with me?' If any of his teammates heard this, they would have slapped him on the back of the head.

"Looks like we're going to have to do things the hard way," Shu said with a sigh.

Using improvised lanterns, they began to look around the room, being extra careful not to touch anything.

"I think I found something," Kenji called out as he shone his light onto a wall that had a picture of Kaguya looking down on some kneeling humans.

As the other joined them the Sand Shinobi took a closer look trying to memorize the image, "Do you think you might be able to decipher it Yamamoto-sama."

"I'll try umm," Kenji paused realizing he didn't know the man's name, "you?"

Kenji shook his head, as he activated Sage Mode, to read the hidden words underneath. "A long, long time ago…"

 **(Rasa)**

Rasa struggled in his bindings as he was shackled to a stone slab, glaring hotly at the ghostly man.

"If you're going to kill me, then just do it?" he said angrily.

The man barely paid him attention as he mixed a batch of different ingredients into a large ceramic pot, "Your time will come human, there is no need to hurry it. But do not fret for your sacrifice will go to a great cause."

Rasa stopped pulling on the chains as that caught his attention. Seeing a chance to get more information he asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Tell me human, what do you know of the Great Sol Empire?"

"Sol Empire, I've never heard of it," Rasa said simply, causing the apparition to briefly stall in his work before continuing.

"Then allow me to enlighten you. Thousands of years ago, before the Age of Man, was the Age of the Moon, but before that was the Age of the Sun. It was a prosperous time, a world where everyone lived in perfect harmony. The earth itself sang with life and every creature was without need. Humans at the time were still crawling out of the mud, but it was thanks to the spirits, born from the earth herself that guided the first men. They clothed, sheltered and feed them and all they asked in return was our worship."

Now Rasa was interested, even the oldest history books only traced back a few hundred years ago. The biggest mystery however was what historians called the Blank Period, a time where no written records could be found.

The other man continued, "So we did just that, we built temples, statues, monuments to show our gratitude, and with every prayer they grew more powerful until they could be called Gods. For centuries this went on, it was thanks to their will that we learned to harness the energies of the universe, we called this art-"

"Cultivation," Rasa guessed.

The translucent man raised an eyebrow, "How curious? You claim to not know about the Golden Era yet you know of our most sacred tradition."

"Lucky guess," Rasa uttered blankly, his mind racing trying to remember what he knew about the subject.

"No matter," the ghost said turning back to his task, "as I was saying, we learned to cultivate our energies, to break free of our mortal coils. Some of the lucky few managed to obtain Godhood and join the other spirits in the Celestial Plains while others only managed to extend their lives by a few centuries. Kingdoms sprouted, and mighty warriors took the responsibility to maintain the balance."

Rasa recalled the books by Kenji Yamamoto and realized with start that they might actually hold some truth to them. "But seeing as they aren't here any longer I guess they didn't fulfil their roll," he said mockingly.

The ghost turned to him and glared, and despite himself Rasa felt something heavy press against him, an invisible force pressing on him.

"It should not have become like this. If it weren't for 'Her' then the glorious Sol Empire would never have been reduced to this pitiful state. To be stricken from the records and left to drown under the sands of the desert."

"H-her?" Rasa asked even as his breathing became labored.

"An abomination, that came from the heavens one dark night. It planted a devil tree that sucked out all the Earth's energy, like parasite. We were wholly unprepared for her and her monster kin as they slaughtered our warriors. Worse still was she dared to proclaim herself a Goddess all the while corrupting the very earth itself, causing the end of cultivation as a whole. The spirits tried to fight her as well but through foul means she was able to strip them of their power and seal them into the very earth itself. Only a few managed to slip away, like the guardian lioness that guarded the entrance of this tomb."

A chill ran down his spine as the Kazekage suddenly had a bad feeling, "Those lion things were the 'spirits' you talked about?"

"Yes, something in the earth has caused the spirts to start awakening."

That sounded very bad Rasa thought, "Won't they be sealed once more though?"

The ghost smirked, "How can they since the one that originally sealed them, was herself betrayed by her own sons and sealed away. Though I can still sense some of her cursed energy in your body."

'What?'

"I must thank you human, for bringing me the key, even if unknowingly."

"What do you plan to do with it," Rasa questioned.

"There is no need for you to know," the man said finishing his concoction, "Simply go knowing that your life will usher in a new era."

The spirit then pressed a hidden lever and the room began to move as the sound of gears could be heard. The room was slowly being lifted upwards. The ceiling parted to show that they were now stand on top of a flat pyramid with what looked like a sacrificial slab next to a standing sarcophagus. Below them he could see hundreds of those jackal-like monsters kneeling on the ground.

 **(Tomb)**

"Wow, didn't expect that," Anko muttered as she gave the pictures more attention after Kenji's explanation, "So this tomb serves as a sort of prison for an evil Spirit."

"Worse, if what Yamamoto-Sama said is correct, it houses an army of chakra beasts, and with them so close to the village it's a matter of great urgency," the Sand Shinobi said biting his thumb in worry.

Kenji on the other hand was smiling, "On the bright side, the treasure here isn't cursed like I initially thought."

The others deadpanned at him.

Shu suddenly called out from the other side of the room, "Hey, I found the exit."

"Great, then I say we haul ass, and get out of here before anything else happens," Anko was the first to respond.

"For once I agree," Kenji said as he was tired of all of this sand. Once they were in the safety of the village they could send someone to collect all of this treasure. He was owed 5% of any treasure found on this trip and he was ready to get paid. Still that didn't mean he hadn't already stuffed as much treasure as he could carry in his storage rings while no one was looking.

No sooner had they decided that, did they hear the sound of thumping.

As one they all turned to look at the sarcophagus, even Akame and Drago who had been hiding inside of Kenji's shadow jump and stood on either side of him donning their armor.

A louder hit was heard as it started to rattle.

They armed themselves with their chosen weapon as they slowly made their way backwards. Kenji took out his dragon canon and aimed it at the coffin. Shu took out his umbrella sword while Anko and the Sand Shinobi took out a kunai each.

The top of the coffin was blown up as thousands of white ghostly hands reached out for them.

Unfortunately, without chakra, they were unable to get away in time as they were quickly being dragged toward the open casket.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit," Shu cursed.

"Hey, no touching!" Anko squawked as she felt one of the hands brush against her inner thigh.

The Sand Shinobi couldn't even do that as a hand covered his mouth.

Kenji on the other hand had a dead look in his eyes as things unfolded.

 **(Rasa)**

"…Ra, bestow upon us your blessings. We trade this life for another," the ghostly apparition said holding a golden staff with a large glass orb suspended between two white curved horns.

Rasa struggled in his bindings as the chanting from the monsters was steadily growing louder.

From what he could guess, they were going to use him to bring back someone back from the dead. Worse was that they planned to unleash their army on the Sand Village, something he couldn't let happen at all cost.

Suddenly the coffin began to rattle, as the ghost began to grin as he kneeled on one knee. "Mortal Goddess, Ruler of the Four Winds and the Sol Empire, Queen Rafita!" he shouted in excitement.

However that was not to be as instead of the ghostly queen what came out was the tangled form of Kenji and his companions.

Rasa looked shocked and even the ghostly priest stood frozen in place.

Kenji took stock of the entire situation in a manner of seconds as he entered Sage Mode once more. 'The heck happened when we split up? Why is the Kazekage missing an arm? And why is he chained to a wall?'

Finally it seemed that the ghost was able to pull himself together as he stood up, a furious expression on his face as a deadly aura enveloped him, "You, what have you done to our Qu-"

That was as far as he got before Kenji sprung to his feet and jumped at him, punching him in the face with a Qi enhanced fist.

"Oof," the ghost said as he was thrown off the side of the pyramid.

The others were quick to jump to action as Shu and the Sand Shinobi worked together to untie Rasa.

"Kazekage are you okay?" the sand ninja asked.

Rasa glared at him for asking such a stupid question. "Of course, not you fool," he said before turning to Kenji, "But we have more pressing matters."

"Let me guess they have an army of chakra beast, that they plan to unleash on the Sand Village in order to raise an army of undead servants to concur the entire Elemental Nations," Kenji asked pointing his cannon down the side of the pyramid.

Rasa nodded his head slowly "Yes, exactly, but how did you know."

Kenji pulled the trigger on the canon's handle, causing the Dragon talisman inside to activate, sending a large fire ball into a pack of Jackal creatures that were running on the side of the pyramid, "Lucky guess.

Shu was also doing his part as he unsealed his Elemental Bow and used it to shoot down any jackals with homing arrows.

Kenji tossed the dragon cannon to Anko, "Here, keep firing at them, while I tend to the Kazekage."

She looked shocked as she caught it before gaining a predator grin, "Will do boss."

He knew he was making a mistake but he had more urgent matter.

Kneeling beside the injured man, Kenji placed a hand on the bloody stump. "This is going to hurt," he told the Kazekage as he activated the yang seal.

"That's doesn't matter," he said tiredly.

Rasa grunted as bone sprouted from the stump, followed by blood vessels, muscles tissue, and finally skin. It was pale in color too, but for all intend and purpose he had his arm back.

"Here drink these, they should help you regain some of your chakra," Kenji said handing them to the men, "I'll just add them to your tab."

Rasa looked ticked off but still took them anyways.

Together the five of them battled against the on slaughter of chakra beasts. Only chakra artifacts and talismans seemed to be doing any permanent damage however, and they were quickly running out of the later.

"Enough!" a loud voice boomed as the ghostly priest floated in the air above them, releasing a strange green aura.

The sky quickly darkened as thunder clouds blocked out the sun.

"You wretched beings dare to interrupt this sacred ceremony! For this you will pay!"

Kenji didn't take his eyes off the ghost even as he called out to the Rasa, "Kazekage?"

"What is it?" Rasa said launching a sand avalanche down the side of the building.

"I hate you."

"Dully noted."

The man pointed his staff up into the air, causing the earth to rumble as geysers of sand erupted on all sides of the pyramid to reveal four giant centipedes the size of a boss summons.

"I really hate you," Kenji said reaching into his ring's inventory to take out a staff that gave off an icy wind.

"Again, noted," Rasa grunted as he began to gather sand to fight them.

The last thing Kenji did before jumping toward them was summon a shadow clone and a number of Shinigami servants.

 **(Kenji's Mind)**

Kaguya gave a smile as she watched the battle ensue. She had done her best to craft that world, serving as both a test to the shinobi as well as herself. Kenji might be a little annoyed but she was sure he would enjoy his prize all the same.

All around her were floating glass orbs showing her what was happening in the real world.

They were used to monitor her chakra beast nests as well as human settlements.

One of the orbs showed a battle between a group of shinobi wearing red uniform and a mole chakra beast that shaped the earth with a flick of its claws. It was slowly making its way toward a large village, completely ignoring their attacks. It got halfway until an attack from above disintegrated it.

Another showed an goat ramming people off the side of a mountain.

However, most of the orbs were dedicated to would be cultivators.

A snap of her fingers and one of the orbs flew towards her to show a creature with a venus fly trap for a head hiding under the sand just a distance away from the Sand Village.

"The board is set, and the players have gathered, all that's left is to ring the starting bell," she said with a smirk on her lips.

 **(Scene change)**

Jumping over a centipede's charge, Kenji landed on its steel-like chitin and began to run along its back, trailing the end of his staff on along the length of its body, causing ice to spread along it's exoskeleton.

 **Chakra: Chunnin**

 **Chakra Points: 3,433/10,002**

 **Cultivation: First Stage**

 **Soul Points: 203**

Channeling Qi into his palm, he slammed it into the head of the centipede. He did this multiple times, injecting his energy into every attack, before being thrown off.

He adjusted his fall to land behind Anko and used his staff to block an attack aimed at her back. With a twirl he stabbed the jackal turning it into an ice statue before following through on his spin and smash it to bits.

The centipede had finished recovering as a purple energy began to build in its mouth, aimed at them.

However just as it was about to open its mouth, Kenji stuck out an arm and made a squeezing gesture, causing the qi inside it to detonate, destroying it from the inside out.

Without a moment to waste he tossed his staff in the air and caught a falling Shu, before turning on a dime and throwing him back toward another giant centipede.

"Yamamoto-Sama! We need better weapons," the Sand Shinobi shouted as he ducked another sword swipe from a jackal soldier.

Kenji reminded himself to find out what his name was but complied anyway as he reached into his space ring and threw him a metal chain that had a snake head at the end.

 **Metal Snake Chain +12**

 **Quality: Mid-human**

 **Attack: 400**

 **+700**

 **10+: Can grow to any length up to a mile long.**

 **12: 10% chance of piercing armor.**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 430**

"Here!"

The shinobi didn't waste any time as he slashed at the insect, causing cracks to appear in its chitin.

"What about me?" Rasa said appearing next to him in a swirl of sand.

Kenji was tempted to tell him to go to hell before begrudgingly realizing that they would need everyone. So, he tossed him a sword.

 **Steel Sword +8**

 **Quality: Low-Human**

 **Attack: 360**

 **+400**

 **Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 30**

There was no need to waste anything better since that would be enough to deal with their current opponents.

They jumped away as a bolt of lightning hit where they were courtesy of the ghostly priest.

"He's going to be a problem," Rasa commented as he sent a wave of gold dust at a centipede to blind it.

Kenji nodded, truth was that only he was equipped to deal with the spirit, the problem was that every time he tried to get close it would either avoid him by flying higher or direct a gust of wind to knock him back down.

"At this rate, we'll be overrun," he commented.

"Any ideas," the Kazekage asked while making a protective dome around them to guard them from the poisons chakra needles that one of the centipedes spit at them.

"One actually. From what I gather it looks like we are currently trapped inside a pocket dimension of some sort. To get out we need to get a hold of the key guarding this place."

"Do you know where it is?"

"Yes. See that orb on top of the spirits staff? If we can destroy it, we'll be able to escape."

"My sand allows me better mobility in the air, I'll get it."

"Okay. I'll see if I can hold him long enough for you to strike," Kenji said before they both hopped away to fight again.

Akame and Drago were currently holding their own against the other two centipedes.

However, a rumbling from the pyramid showed that things were far from over as hidden pathways slid open and mummified corpses began to tuple out by the dozens.

They looked like something straight out of a nightmare as they gave a horrifying scream before throwing themselves at the sides of the pyramid, showing an impressive amount of liveliness using each other to climb the almost vertical surface.

"Boss, I'm out of ammunition," Anko said appearing at his side.

Kenji tossed her his staff, "Forget about that for the moment. I need you to guard me for a second."

Kenji looked at the incoming hoard and clicked his tongue. He looked over at his clone that had taken refuge inside the sarcophagus. It nodded its head as it tossed a bundle of recently made talisman.

The floor under him cracked as he channeled all of his Qi into the slips of paper and spoke the 'holy words', "Mother of Chakra, Goddess of the Crimson Moon, Weaver of Destiny and Fortune, let your brilliant light shine upon this earth. In the name of-"

The ghost put on a shocked face as it stared at Kenji, something that Rasa didn't fail to catch as he waited for his moment to strike, "Y-You, how do you know those words?! You not supposed to- Are you one of the monster's followers, but how?!"

"-Let thy will be made through this vessel and bless the land in your name. 128 Red Moon Mass Purification Formation!" A part of him felt like it died as he recited the stupid name of the technique.

The talismans turned a brilliant gold before they shot up into the sky where they formed a circle large enough to cover the entire pyramid. They slowly began to rotate, picking up speed with each turn until it looked like a giant golden ring.

With a final gesture Kenji slammed his hand on the ground.

The world seemed to slow to a crawl as a beam of gold energy fell upon them.

The light from the technique proved harmless to the shinobi, but the same could not be said for the jackals and the mummies. The jackals disintegrated upon contact turning into black dust that scattered in the wind. The mummies on the other hand stopped in their charge as the golden light burned away their corrupted bodies, leaving behind spectral images behind before slowly ascending into the sky.

The Sand Shinobi that had appeared at Kenji's side gasped as he stared at one particular spirit that was wearing an old shinobi uniform, "Grandfather,"

Now that he was looking closely, Kenji spotted several shinobi among the ghosts, 'So she gathered all of the resentful spirits in Suna here just so that I could purify them? I don't know if I should call that extremely compassionate or extremely selfish.' With every spirit that was purified Kenji could sense his overall Qi increase.

So immersed was he that he didn't even notice as Anko dropped to her knees behind him, clutching at the curse mark on her neck. She looked to be in extreme pain as the patch of skin began to bubble until finally a small white snake emerged. The purple haired kunoichi looked stunned before realization hit her as she inspect her shoulder only to see that the seal that had been a source of self-loathing for years was now gone. Without a moment to waste she tried to stab at the snake but it proved to be much quicker than it seemed as it easily slipped past her and into a crack in the floor.

However, it didn't get very far as Master Shu appeared and stabbed his hand into the ground, pulling it up by its tail. It tried to bite him but he simply tossed it into the air, his blade flashing as it was cut in half.

Anko looked startled as she stared at him. Suddenly she hit with a sense of fatigue, causing her to collapse on the ground, her eyes growing heavier and heavier. The last thing she saw was Kenji's back as he stared at the sea of spirits.

Kenji felt a shiver run down his spine but ignored it for the moment.

Rasa didn't waste any time as he created a platform made of sand and flew toward the spirit, who flickered in and out of existence as if fighting to not be purified.

He launched a tendril of sand that wrapped around the middle of the staff before pulling it towards him.

"No!" the ghost shouted as it flew after the staff, but it was already too late as Rasa stabbed at the crystal with the sword Kenji had given him. It split down the middle as a white light engulfed them all.

The last thing the Kazekage saw however was the hazy image of a familiar woman smiling at him as she too joined the sea of souls.

 **(Hiruzen)**

"Thank you, Maple-kun," the old Hokage said petting the red hawk on the head as it brought him the latest reports from the Leaf village. It gave a gracious bow before it disappeared in a cloud of ash, traveling back to the Leaf.

Kenji had managed to tame a number of chakra beasts before departure from the Leaf, something that the Hokage was extremely grateful for as it made his work easier.

Unsealing the package, Hiruzen began to go over the different reports, "Looks like the number of exorcisms has finally dwindled down. Hmm, the Kurama clan has requested that Kenji look over one of their members for demonic possession. Might want to ease him into it later. The civilian council wants to restructure the academy to include lessons on chakra beasts. That's surprising proactive of them, though I suppose it will be necessary in the future."

Times were changing, and the old Hokage couldn't help but feel his age catch up to him. It already felt like he was a relic of the past with everything happening so far. "If only Kenji-kun was less focused on making money and more on his shinobi carrier I could safely hand him the position of Kage in a few years."

Of course, he knew it was only a pipe dream, but the Third still dreamed of retirement, to enjoy the days playing with his grandson and his pseudo-grandson and not have to worry about the stability of the village at every waking moment.

Looking out of the window, he took a puff from his pipe only for it to drop a second later.

A giant dome of light could be seen on the horizon, a beam similar to the one that had appeared a few days ago extended to the sky.

Seeing the direction it was coming from, the aged shinobi didn't waste any time as he disappeared from the room in a swirl of leaves.

 **(Treasure Room)**

"Ohhhh, my aching everything," Kenji moaned as the recently gathered Qi tried to settle down in his spirit roots.

The others didn't fare much better as they laid sprawled apart on the treasure room floor.

Kenji spotted the priest's staff a few inched from him and reached for it. The orb was gone making it look like a two-pronged spear.

As soon as his hands made contact with one of the spear heads, his eyes widened in shock at the information that his ability gave him.

 **Kaguya's Horn**

 **Quality: Legendary**

 **Description: Unknown**

 **Chakra Points Until Next Upgrade: ?**

'Oh damn,' Kenji thought as he looked around himself to see that no one else was looking before taking the two horns for himself. His mind raced as it tried to imagine the amount of power that a weapon made from the horns of a Goddess could wield.

Compared to this, the gold in the room seemed to lose some of its luster. Though that didn't mean he would simple leave it behind either.

'…hahahahahaha!'

The sound of maniacal laughter echoed in Kenji's brain in that second as Akame hopped into his vision, "Why are you laughing."

She didn't answer as she simply laid down four tennis-sized chakra beast crystals.

It took a moment for Kenji to connect the dots but when he did, the blood in his face drained, "No."

'Yes! You remember the deal. I collect 4 second-grade chakra beast crystals and I can make a Sect.'

The thought of more super powered bunnies hopping around his compound caused him to nearly spit out blood.

 **(Hiruzen)**

The old shinobi arrived at the outskirts of the ruined city accompanied with an army of Sand shinobi.

"Spread out," the Suna commander ordered. The shinobi turned to Hiruzen and gave a small incline of his head, "Don't worry, we'll find them Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen nodded his head before also beginning to search the area.

It was only a few minutes into their search when a loud explosion rang from the side of the pyramid took their attention.

A cloud of smoke obscured most of it, but they could see a small figure walking out of a newly made hole.

"Cough. Cough. What the heck? I was sure we were underground."

"Oh god, fresh air?" a feminine voice rang out.

"I could use a bath, also stop leaning on me."

"Ow. Boss, Shu is being mean to me."

"Deal with it, now let's hurry and get this job done. The faster we get away from this desert the better."

Hiruzen smiled at knowing that all of his people had returned.

The sand ninja's also gave a cheer as they spotted their Kazekage come out of the pyramid, though now sporting a completely white arm.

The aged Hokage reminded himself to ask for a full report later once everyone was well rested.

 **(Sand Village)**

It was during midday when Kenji and the rest finally arrived back in the village.

The villagers had been properly informed to clear a path as they walked through the streets followed by teams of shinobi each carrying piles of treasure. The people cheered as Rasa stood tall soaking in their praises.

"I do hope he doesn't forget that 5% of that is mine," Kenji grumbled on top of Draco.

The aged Hokage smiled as he ruffled the small boy's hair, just happy he was back in one piece.

The celebration that ensured lasted for three days before order could be restored giving the Leaf team enough time to rest up.

"Here," Kenji said tossing the old man a domino sized piece of jade, "I forgot to give this to you. It called a jade slip, I filled it with my memories of what happened during the expedition. Thought it would serve better than a written report." Of course, he made sure to leave out any incriminating evidence out.

"Ah yes, the fabled jade slip, from your novels. I was wondering when you were going to get around to making them, the research department has been petitioning me to ask if you could make them. They should prove most useful for the upcoming meeting."

"Where's my clone?" Kenji said noticing the absence of 'Master Shu'.

"I saw it leave a while ago to get some supplies. Anko is in her room practicing her Alchemy judging by the fumes coming from under the door."

"Well then I guess I should also get ready to leave."

It took two more days until they could leave, as the Sand's financial department had finally finished recording the treasures value. Kenji made sure to supervise as he didn't want to be cheated out of a single Ryo.

The total amount was startling to say the least. With 25% of the treasure going to the Leaf Village, even Danzo would have nothing to complain about. The Hokage had estimated that with the new funds, they would be able to pay off all of their debts within the next year with some still left over to reform the Academy.

Kenji's cut was smaller but even with just 5%, it put him in a league of his own. His fortune even outstripped the wealth of some nobles living in the Fire Capital and way more than any one clan in the Leaf Village. He expected to get marriage proposals as soon as he stepped foot back in the village but even that future headache couldn't wipe away the large smile plastered on his face.

"It was a pleasure to have you stay with us Hokage-sama," Rasa said with an incline of his head.

"Ho ho, the pleasure was ours," the Third said politely.

"A shame you could not stay longer and enjoy the festivities, but I'm sure you are eager to return home."

"Perhaps another time."

"Where is Yamamoto-san, by the way?" Rasa asked when he didn't see the boy. There was still a lot of questions that he had over what had happened, and something told him that Kenji was at least partially involved.

"Kenji-kun is just saying good-bye to some friends," the Hokage lied, as even he wasn't sure where he was at the moment, as he had slipped away when no one was looking.

"…I see," the Kazekage said with a fake smile.

A distance away from the Sand Village, Kenji stopped and took out a scroll. He looked up into the sky, where the semi-visable form of the moon rested, "Really? Are you sure about this? I get that we need more allies but- …fine."

With a sigh he threw the scroll as hard as he could into the dessert and turned around to go back to the others.

In the same direction, a black hand sprouted from underneath the sand and retrieved the scroll. The form of Zetsu emerged as he stared at the unmistakable energy surrounding the paper, **"Mother?"** It sent a look at the retreating form of the small human before slinking back into the sand.

"Ready to leave Kenji?" Hiruzen asked when Kenji appeared next to him.

The small boy nodded, "Yes."

"Then let's get going."

Kenji couldn't help but look in the direction of the pyramid ruins and all the changes that would soon happen.

* * *

 **A/N: Yes, finally finished.**

 **Now I'm sure you all have questions. So I'll try to answer some here now.**

 **First, the inside of the pyramid was a huge maze that constantly moved around as if alive. When the team split up, Rasa's group actually entered a separate dimension, think of the pocket world from the movie Road to Ninja. The tomb acted as a well of souls, or portable that others could use to travel dimensions. Inuyasha fans will know what it is.**

 **Second, Kaguya is finally flexing her goddess powers, using her rabbit minions to scout the world.**

 **Third, the entire setting was created by Kaguya for the sole purpose of raising her and Kenji's power in the way of purifying all of the ghost in the sand village.**

 **Well I'm sure you have more questions, so feel free to comment.**

 **I'd also like to announce that after this chapter, the story will skip to the start of the series. So a two year time skip. Naruto is currently 10 and Kenji is 11 older by a few months.**

 **But before that I'm going to go back and correct some of my mistakes, just small inconsistencies I found as I was re-reading it, nothing that will change the story but just to make it easier on the future readers.**

 **I also plan to focus on my Harry Potter fanfic as I hope to finish book 1 before the year ends, so Kenji won't be updated until next year.**

 **Well, I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving. Until next time.**


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